Quadrille of War
by hoshi-ni-onegai
Summary: *HIATUS* When Kagome, princess of the North, is captured, Inuyasha, rogue fighter for hire, is sent to rescue her. With Inuyasha and his group's help, Kagome must end the war between the four lands and finally bring peace. But what secrets arise between the two?
1. Prologue A Trade

1A/N: My second Inuyasha fanfic, my third fanfic overall. It's been a while since I started writing fanfics and I hope that my writing is improving. It's been a long three years and it's a start of a new one in the end of November. I hope you like this new fic. It is AU, but I tried not to make anyone too OCC. Also, the setting of this story is not feudal Japan. Heck, it's not even Japan, only the names of the characters are Japanese. That'll be further explained as the story continues, but I thought I'd clarify as to not cause confusion. The time period? Well, it's in a world that doesn't exist, and a time that doesn't exist. . . but imagine a world with a sense of the ancient Greek/Roman/Arabic/East Asian influences. . . if that doesn't make sense, well, you're not alone. I'll do sketches of their clothing one day, that might clear things up. Anyways, this is a fic to all those readers out there that have been faithfully reading. And if you know me well enough, you'll know what I'll say next: enjoy the chappie!

Disclaimer: The _Inuyasha_ world and all characters depicted are a creation of mangaka, Rumiko Takahashi.

**A Trade**

By Hoshi-ni-Onegai

The wind that whistled through the trees and grass sent an eerie sensation across the camp. On the edge of the encampment stood a young woman with obsidian hair and a steel blue gaze. With a cluster of resting soldiers behind her she studied the forest. The only sounds in the night consisted of the jovial chatter of the men, clattering of equipment, the crackling of the burning wood, and the incessant wind.

Shuffling up to where the woman stood, a soldier caught her attention and bowed slightly toward her. "My lady Kagome."

She glanced at to the soldier that was serving guard duty, "What's wrong Rinji?"

He lowered his head to confer quietly in her ear; as if afraid there were spies in the bushes attempting to hear his words. "The night forest is quiet my lady, but the wind does not settle."

"Tell the men to stand guard." Turning away from the soldier she fixated her eyes on the dark tree line once again. "It's too quiet."

Bowing once again he made his way toward the other soldiers to give the announcement. However, he was stopped in his tracks when an arrow pierced him through the heart. Hearing the bone chilling scream Kagome turned to see the soldier fall to his knees. His eyes were widened and staring off into the forest from which the arrow came.

"Rinji!" Sprinting through the grass and leaping over a log, she raced toward the fallen body.

"My lady no!" Another soldier tackled her from the side to prevent a second arrow from hitting her.

"Mamoru!" She stared with horror at the arrow that stuck through the soldier's left shoulder.

He gave a struggled smile, "A mere scratch my lady."

Taking control of her nerves she grabbed the side of the arrow that protruded the most and broke the end off, making Mamoru groan with agony. Ignoring the sounds he made she took hold of the other end of the arrow and tugged it out cleanly. Seeing the blood oozing out freely, she took her dark blue cloak and ripped a long stream of cloth from the edge. Tearing the shirt away from the injured shoulder she tightly wrapped the cloth in a makeshift bandage.

Her task complete she glared into the trees. Standing she yelled at the top of her lungs, "Come out you coward!"

A hush fell across the camp and the surrounding forest. The perpetual wind stilled and the only thing heard was the crunching of leaves below the feet of many men coming their way. The soldiers in the camp made a circle around Kagome, protecting her from any impending attacks.

A deep voice chuckled as he stepped out of the darkness of the dense forest and into the clearing. "Protecting your charge, how touching." He tilted his head to peek through the wall of men that blocked him from the woman in the center, "Your men are very loyal Kagome, wouldn't want to lose a single one if I were you."

She glared at him making her way toward her men and gesturing for them to let her pass. "I'll kill you for attacking my men, Onigumo."

Throwing back his head he laughed at her, "I don't go by that name anymore Kagome."

Gesturing for an archer to take aim at the man she seethed, "I don't care what pet named you picked up along the way. Stand down now or I'll tell Haru to shoot."

Smirking he motioned for someone to come out from behind a tree, "Do you know the names of all your men? Let me test you, sweet Kagome." From his right stepped forward a large foreboding snake demon holding at sword point a man dressed in the armor of the Northern Lands. "Do you know this one?"

"Takumi!" She took a step toward the captured soldier but was held back. She glared up at the soldier, "Let me through Kazuma."

Looking down at her he shook his head, "Stand back my lady."

Onigumo laughed, "Yes, stand back my lady if you want to see dear Takumi die."

Kagome glared and stepped forward ignoring Kazuma when he tried to hold her back again. "You're not killing him. Or any of my other men."

Smiling Onigumo motioned for the rest of his army to step forward. With the sound of rustling armor he smirked, "Do you see all my numbers? All two hundred sixty-nine of them? Do you think your eighty-three. . . well, I supposed with Rinji dead eighty-two men, will be able to defeat us? Most of them are demon you know."

Her blood boiling she stood tall, "What do you want?"

"Straight to the point aren't we my lady." Not getting a response from her he smirked, "I want you."

Tilting her chin down she continued on with a steely glare, her next words coming out as a growl. "Now who's the one being straight to the point?"

"Come with me and I'll let your men go. A simple trade with simple rules." He gestured for the snake demon to press the sword closer to the soldier's neck, "So, what will it be?"

Kagome glanced over at Takumi then back at Onigumo, "Fine, but they go free before I go with you."

"My lady!"

The roar of the men made her glance back. She smiled sadly, and then shook her head. "Once Takumi is released take the injured Mamoru and Rinji's body with you and leave. Return back to our lands, you will be safe there. And by all means don't look back."

"But my lady Kagome!"

She shook her head, "Don't worry Kazuma, I'll by fine as long as I know you are all out of harm's way."

Stepping in front of Onigumo she stood in full rage. "Now, let them go."

Pulling out a rope from his robes he took her wrists and tied them tightly together. With a final tug he disable her hands, "Heard some interesting rumors about you Kagome. Can't have you escaping can I?"

Words were curt and uncompromising. "Let them go."

Onigumo smirked and nodded his head toward the demons that backed away into the woods. The Northern soldiers looked upon their charge with worry as they gathered their weapons and fallen men. Kazuma stopped and turned with Mamoru at his side, both bowed deeply toward her. Kagome smiled and bowed back to them but was forcefully pulled back up by Onigumo yanking her hair.

"You'll never bow for anyone else but me." Grabbing her upper arm he hoarded away into the trees and away from the concerned eyes of the Northern Lands' soldiers.

Struggling to get out of his grasp she yelled through clenched teeth, "I will never bow to you!"

Smiling he raised his fist and slammed down on the back of her neck knocking her out, "We'll see about that."

xXx

A/N: I know what you all are thinking. Why the hell is this fanfic author that is notorious for slow updates even considering taking on another fic? Well, my answer to that question is that as much as I love writing "Remembering You" I realized that I was getting bored with just writing that one story. Also, it's been hard as hell staying part of the canon being as that story is a continuation, and if you've been reading, you know all those connections to complicated myths? Yeah, I don't pull that stuff out of my ass quickly you know. "Remembering You" is such a taxing story that I need another one, an AU, where I can write anything. AND IT WOULDN'T MESS UP THE CANON. Evil canon. . . if don't know what canon means. . . uh. . . look it up? Anyways here is my new story, and I know this a short chapter. . . think of it as a hook. If it doesn't hook that many readers in I'd like to know why (that's the reason for reviews people).


	2. Oh the webs we weave

1A/N: Apparently I have this amazing ability to hook 6 readers enough that they reviewed (one person reviewed twice. . . the second time to tell me that the updates were really slow). Okay, so I'm a horrible fanfiction writer that NEVER updates. . . but I do what I can. Thanks for sticking with me through the seven months I hadn't updated this fic. . . and if you had given up. . . well, honestly? I don't blame you. That's more than half a year. I'm surprised that some people still read the things I post. Sigh. I'll try to make these posts worth while for you. . . Until next time! Enjoy the chappie!

Disclaimer: The _Inuyasha_ world and all characters depicted are a creation of mangaka, Rumiko Takahashi.

**Oh the webs we weave**

By Hoshi-ni-Onegai

The crackling of a fire to her right roused her. The heat radiating from it was a stark contrast to the cold to her left. Stirring awake she blinked her eyes open, attempting to focus them on something within her line of vision. When her gaze adjusted it fell upon a darkened tent illuminated by a small fire in the middle. Groaning she lifted her head to look around noticing that the tent was obviously that of someone important. It was filled with the lavish desires of the most expensive tastes. A pile of the softest animal fur rested in the corner with silken sheets over it as a form of bedding. In another corner sat a small table of deep mahogany, plated with gold designs. And so it went through out the room that was filled with the rarest of jewels, heavily embroidered clothing of royalty, and a rug covering the ground so as that nothing touched the dirt ground.

"You have got to be-" She halted in her words when she noticed that her hands were tied behind her back with the pole that held the tent up between her back and hands.

"You're awake." She turned toward the voice and widened her eyes when she saw Onigumo walking in through the flaps of the tent. "You were out for six days, I was worried maybe I hit you too hard."

She tugged on the ties of her wrist but all they did was tighten further. She glared at him, "And the men?"

Waving her comment off, he sat on the bedding to leer at her, "Set free like we agreed."

Feeling his eyes burning holes into her she looked away, "What do you plan to do with me? If you're holding me for ransom, you won't get it. The Northern Lands don't comply to a ransom."

He let out a hysteric laugh, "Ransom? Look around my lady, that last thing I need is the Northern Lands' wealth."

"Then what do you want with me?"

Pushing himself off the bedding he crouched before her. Gripping her chin with his grasp he forced her to face him, "If you have to ask a question like that, you're more naive then I thought."

She pushed her self against the pole, anything to inch away from the man. "Why me?"

Grappling her by the hips Onigumo jerked her to lie on her back on the floor. The forced motion pushed her arms in a manner not physically possible. Holding her screech as long as possible she could not help but let the shrill scream pierce the night air as both her shoulders dislocated.

Smirking he rubbed in the tears of pain that spilled over from her eyes. "Oh, did that hurt? I'll be gentler next time."

Biting her teeth down her eyes widened as she tried to swallow in the pain that coursed through her. The six days without food or water had taken its toll, and trying to stand the pain was draining her. Taking panting breaths she glared at him with fury. "There won't be a next time, or a first time."

He scrunched his brows and gave a smile of scorn, "Oh, but being that you'll become my spouse I'm sure you'll perform your wifely duties."

Her eyes widened as she heard his words and felt his hand travel up her leg. "W-wife?"

"You're surprised? A marriage and I take control of your lands. And with a beauty such as yourself how could I resist?"

Feeling his hand traveling higher she clamped her legs shut. "I will never marry you."

Leaning down he breathed in her ear, "And you think you can stop me?"

Suddenly the central fire in the tent and the candles through out the room were blown out by an unexpected rush of wind. Onigumo stopped his action and sat up, whipping his head back noticing that the racket that his men were making outside had stopped as well. That's when he felt it, a blade at his throat and an arrogant growl behind him. "She might not be able to stop you, but then again that's why I'm here."

"Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Doesn't really matter does it? Now, back away from the girl if you value your life."

The blade pressed harder on his throat, and Onigumo's snarled at the feel of blood trickling down his neck. Pulling away from Kagome Onigumo moved his hand to his side attempting to reach for a dagger, but his creeping hand was given a firm kick by the unknown figure.

"How dumb do you think I am? Keep your hands up." The voice glanced at the girl that was quickly falling into unconsciousness. Taking notice of the inhumanly bent arms he glared back at the abomination of a man. "Do you consider yourself a man doing that to a woman?"

Onigumo turned his head slightly and slanted his eyes in the dark, "You can see her in dark. . . You're a demon."

The figure shook his head, "Close." Lifting his right foot he set it on the back of Onigumo's neck. "Well, I guess it's our time to say good bye Onigumo."

He cackled with no fear in his voice, "Naraku."

"What?"

"You'll do well to remember my name half demon. Onigumo is dead."

The figure shrugged, "Don't really care who you are, I'm just here for the girl." With that he lifted his heal and slammed it into the back of his skull knocking him out cold.

Having taken care of the man and shoving him to the side, the figure stepped toward Kagome. Walking around the pole he cut the ropes from her wrists and took hold of her left forearm. Bringing it to stretch out in front of her he carefully placed his right foot in her left underarm.

"This is going to hurt. Do you want something to bite down on?" Seeing her shake her head in a sign of no he wondered about the endurance of the girl. Shrugging he took a firm hold on her arm and pulled. Her gray-blue eyes widened as she tried to keep in her whimpers of pain. Raising his eyebrows he heedfully lowered her arm to rest on the ground next to her. Taking hold of her other arm he set him self in the similar position and glanced down at the girl. "You sure you don't want a piece of cloth or something to bite down on?"

She gave a gesture of refusal once again and he sighed. One thing was for sure, this girl was stubborn as hell. Pulling on her right arm until it popped back into place he glanced at the young woman and courage that she seemed to exude. Setting down the arm with the equal amount of care as the other he leaned over her, "You okay?"

Opening her eyes that had unknowingly closed, she tried to see through the darkness but was unable. Taking in deep calming breaths she could not hold on any longer to consciousness. Her head slumping to the side and her world went black. Seeing her limp figure he sighed. He picked her up gingerly and carried her out of the tent. Maybe it was for the best. With her completely out of it, she would not feel the pain that would otherwise be coursing through her shoulders.

Slipping out of the flaps of the tent, he observed the fallen men of the now known name of Naraku. Leaping through the camp he stole into the dense forest to leave a hoard of unconscious men in his wake, who would no doubt wake in a foul mood. Dashing through the underbrush and dodging low branches, he raced away even as the sun rose a few hours later on the horizon. Crossing the frontier of the Southern lands, he slowed down the moment his foot touched the neutral and sacred Central grounds, a land where no one had authority and violence was the gravest form of blasphemy.

Weaving through an even denser line of trees he came upon a rock cliff and hopped up to reach an overhang fifty feet up. Going behind a jutting rock, he found the entrance of the cave he had been looking for and stepped in. Upon entry four heads turned toward the intrusion of the cave.

"Inuyasha!" A small fuzz ball of a fox demon attacked his leg but he made quick work of shaking him off.

"You're going to make me drop the girl you idiot." Setting the young woman down on a makeshift bed of straws and blankets he turned his head toward the only other female in the room. "Tend to her wounds will you Sango?"

The young woman kneeled next to the unconscious Kagome, "She's just a girl. . . fifteen maybe sixteen."

"Well one thing is for sure, our idiot client was right."

Shippou rested upon the man's head that just spoke. "What was he right about Miroku?"

"That she would be an incomparable beauty."

Sango glared at him, "Stay away from her monk."

Grinning Miroky knelt down to grasp Sango's hands, "Oh do not be jealous my dear Sango! You are still the most beautiful woman in my eyes." Rubbing her hands across his cheeks he sighed, "The only woman for me is you."

Slipping her hand away from his she smacked him upside the head, "You're a man of the cloth."

He grinned as he rubbed the pain from his head, "And lucky for you, my religion that doesn't require celibacy in their monks."

Rolling her eyes, she turned away, "Still not your woman."

Miroku stared at her a moment then turned toward the limp Kagome. "Then possibly our charge. . ."

His skull was met with the fist of an annoyed half demon, "Don't even think about it monk. Either way, she's way out of your league."

"Yeah Miroku, why would a princess give you the time of day?" The small kit sniffed the laying woman, "What I don't get is why a girl like her is engaged to a guy like that."

Inuyasha scrunched his brows, "A girl like her? You don't even know her."

"She smells nice." The youngest member of their group shrugged and hopped away to venture outside.

Sango smiled after the kit and glanced at Inuyasha, "So, does she?"

The half demon glanced at her, then returned his stare back at Kagome. "Does she what?"

"Smell good."

Whipping his head toward her he yelled, "How the hell am I supposed to know?"

Sighing Sango faced the girl and studied her, "She doesn't look worst for the wear. Well, considering what she went through." Circling her fingers around the girl's wrist Sango noted, "Under fed probably since the day she was captured, but I don't see anything else wrong with her."

Crouching down on the other side of Kagome, Inuyasha rolled up the left sleeve of her robe. Upon uncovering of the skin Sango gasped. The monk looked after hearing the shocked girl and widened his eyes in surprise. Upon the otherwise unmarred skin was a discoloration of deep purple and blue that spread across and around the surface of shoulder. The bruise faded into the porcelain skin of the girl, and the same was revealed when Sango rolled up the other sleeve.

Knowingly raising his brows, Inuyasha sighed. "The bastard really did a number on her, dislocated both her arms."

Miroku nodded, "I heard her scream when we were fighting the demons of the camp. I wasn't sure if I could just leave so you could handle the situation inside."

Sango looked upon the girl with pity then set about searching through her things for a salve. "If we had moved in a few minutes earlier this wouldn't have happened."

Inuyasha huffed, "Yeah, and if we went in a few minutes later, we would have a raped girl on our hands. She's just lucky we got there."

Sango stared at the girl pensively as she rubbed in the salve. "We can't move her right now, I wouldn't even know how we would go about doing that."

Miroku nodded and sat near the entrance of the cave, "Yes, it would be wise to hold off moving her."

Inuyasha growled at the thought, "The longer we wait the longer it is until we get paid."

Giving him a deadpan stare Sango pointed him out the entrance. "Stop being a jerk and go find some food. This girl is going to need it when she wakes up. And take Kirara with you."

Grumbling the half demon stomped out with the fire cat demon in tow, leaving Sango to tend to the starved girl.

Hours later, after the day started, ended and the night began, the smell of cooking meat wafted Kagome's senses. Due to her empty stomach she stirred awake, her body telling her to wolf down the meat that was a few quick paces away.

"She's waking up." A feminine voice said as it made its way toward her.

Kagome feigned sleep as she sensed the woman coming closer. When the presence was looming over her Kagome snapped her eyes open startling the amethyst-eyed

woman. Deftly Kagome reached for the dagger that was strapped to her inner thigh and flipped it in her hand to hold it against Sango's jugular. Not averting her gaze from the woman Kagome demanded an answer. "Who are you?"

That was when Kagome in turn felt the sharp blade of a sword at the back of her neck. "That, bitch, is the woman that's been tended to your wounds. Now, this is the second time since yesterday that I've had to hold someone at sword point. I'm not one for idle threats, so why don't you put that dagger away before I lop your head off."

A face of anger crossed her face as she loosened her grip on the dagger and slowly placed it back in the strap. The sword at the back of her neck lifted, she glanced back to witness a large demon blade transform as it was sheathed into an ordinary sized scabbard. Whipping her head around completely, her widened eyes met with annoyed golden amber. In her vision, stood a tall, lean muscular build, silver-haired, dog-eared half demon. Dressed in the red clothes of a Western warrior, but he wore no crest, swearing no allegiance to a kingdom.

"You're..."

The half demon raised a brow at her, "Surprised a princess knows her way around a dagger." He tilted his head studying her. Raven black hair that seemed to shine with a tinge of blue, a small limber body that was in no way belonging to 'just a girl' as Sango had put it, and the deepest of stormy blue eyes. Adorning the clothes typical of the Northern royalty showed an obvious indication of status.

He was taken back from his reverie when she spoke once again, "You're Inuyasha."

He smirked at that and faced the monk, "Hear that Miroku? My reputation precedes me."

"Don't be arrogant Inuyasha, the ladies see it as unattractive." Miroku stood up and crouched before her. "Excuse my brute friend here. He doesn't know how to treat a woman, let alone a princess."

She took in the sight of the dark purple-eyed man with a short black haired ponytail at the nape of his neck wearing the customary garbs of a monk. Confusion ran across her face, "Princess?"

The monk smiled, "Yes, do not worry, we know of who you are. You're betrothed from the Eastern Lands was the one to contract us into retrieving you."

"Betrothed? Contract?" Kagome continued to speak with a confounded tone.

The monk was smacked upside the head once again by the woman with long black hair tied up in a high ponytail wearing the clothes of the legendary demon slayers. "She just woke up monk, stop confusing her with more information."

"I was merely attempting to be friendly with her. What with Inuyasha being the first person she encountered, she must not have a good impression of us."

"Hey I resent that lecher! I'm the one that rescued the wench."

Sango sighed ignoring the other two and faced the other young woman with a smile. "How do your shoulders feel?"

Kagome blinked slowly in surprise, "You're not angry?"

"About the dagger? No, a little thrown back, but not angry." Sango reached for Kagome's sleeve to slip up but the other girl pulled back. "I'm not going to hurt you. We're not going to hurt you."

"Yeah, can't have our pay being cut." Inuyasha grumbled as he sat down cross-legged against the wall with his sword between his legs and arms.

Giving him a glare Sango faced back to Kagome, "Don't mind him, he's just being an ass. Now, let me see those wounds of yours."

Kagome winced as her sleeve was pulled up to show the angry bruise. "I'm going to fucking kill Onigumo the next time I see the bastard."

Sango stopped in her movements of reapplying the salve to stare at the woman. Miroku was taken by surprise as well and stood gawking. Inuyasha was the one to smirk, "Got a quite a mouth on you princess."

Kagome shook her head, "I'm sorry, I usually don't curse. . . it's just. . . well, how would you feel if you were abducted and almost raped for the sake of land?"

Inuyasha shrugged, "Isn't it always about land?"

She stared at him, "If that isn't the most jaded comment I've ever heard I'm not sure what is."

"Well, since you're up to attacking Sango and curse in the name of Onigumo, I think you're up to traveling tomorrow back to your betrothed, princess."

"Kagome." She said as she glanced down at Sango rubbing in the salve.

"Huh?"

She turned her gaze away from the woman and smiled, "That's my name, not princess."

Miroku walked toward the fire that had a roasting wild boar over it, "Well Miss Kagome, if you're hungry you're welcome to eat."

She nodded her thank you when handed a piece of meat along with everyone else. "So the three of you travel around rescuing damsels in distress?"

Miroku chuckled, "If the situation calls for it yes, but we're a bit more versatile than that. We also have two other traveling companions in our group."

Suddenly a bounding ball of fur came tumbling with a purring cat demon following him. "We found acorns!"

Smiling Miroku motioned toward the happy kit. "Speak of the devil."

Shippou stopped in his tracks when he saw the awoken girl. Creeping toward her carefully he studied her. Kagome smiled down at the small demon.

The kit grinned, "You're awake."

Kagome chuckled, "I woke up just now. Almost killed your friend in the process."

The young demon laughed and held out an acorn with his fingers, "You can have this. It will protect you one day if you ever find yourself in danger."

Smiling she nodded and took the acorn in her fingers. "It'll never leave my side."

The rest of the night was passed with a meal of roasted boar and small talk between everyone except for the quiet Inuyasha that sat in the corner. When everyone was off to sleep Kagome tossed around in her bedding. Sighing in exasperation she picked herself up and snuck out the entrance of the cave. Out in the open, she breathed in the night air and sighed. Noticing there was no way off the cliff face but down she shrugged and sat down on the edge with her legs dangling.

"You know, you could get yourself killed out here by yourself."

"Or I could get killed if you pushed me off the cliff." Kagome glanced back at Inuyasha, then turned her gaze back to the forest canopy. "I'm willing to take the risk."

Plopping down a few feet to her right Inuyasha stared over the trees. "Keh."

"So what are you doing awake? Shouldn't you be resting up for the journey tomorrow?"

He turned his face away in a feigned annoyed gesture, "I'm not some human that needs a full night's sleep." He glanced toward her, "So what's your excuse?"

She sighed, "I've been unconscious for the past seven days. I wouldn't be able to fall asleep even if I wanted to."

Silence lapsed between the two as they both studied the night. Not finding any oncoming threats he stole a look at Kagome. Feeling his gaze on her, she turned toward him, but he quickly turned away pretending to have not been looking. "So you're a man for hire."

He shrugged, "You could say that. Whatever anyone asks me to do, I'll do it." Smirking he turned his head toward her, "Well, for a reasonable price of course."

She rolled her eyes and turned toward the forest, "And they say chivalry is dead."

A serious expression crossed his features, and he glared at the waning moon. "Chivalry doesn't get you bread in your stomach and clothes on your back. Don't get ideas that I'm your savior or anything. Your intended was just willing to pay my fee to come rescue your ass."

"How charming. Aren't you just the perfect knight in shining armor." A saddened look came across her, "With the turmoil that's going through the lands these past few years I'm not surprised by your attitude. There are people dying and less people willing to fight in the name of their kingdom because of it. Can't really blame them, the world is becoming a place where it really is every man for himself. Soon, the Central Lands won't even be safe."

"What would a princess know about real problems? You hear about what happens in the battles but you really have no idea."

Kagome leaned her head forward hiding her face with her bangs, "Maybe you're right. A princess wouldn't really know the sufferings of men."

Inuyasha glanced at the girl, maybe he had been too harsh? He sighed and looked away, what did her care? As long as he was paid for his services he did not care about much else. The rest of the night was spent in quiet as they silently watched the sun rise to start another day.

Later that morning the five companions and the rescued princess could be seen trekking the path through the Central paths toward the Eastern lands. Kagome walked next to Sango, preoccupied by her thoughts of what was to come. She was grateful that she had been saved before she was raped and being returned to more peaceful lands, but the Eastern Lands? To her intended? When had she gotten around to getting another intended?

"Kagome?"

The girl in question was brought out of her musings when Shippou addressed her. Smiling at the kit that rested on Miroku's shoulder that walked in front of her, "Yes Shippou?"

"You're a princess right?"

Her thoughts jumped a moment at the question. Her voice was tentative, "You could say that."

"What's it like? Living in a castle, with everything you could ever want brought to you?" At Shippou's question Miroku glanced back and Sango turned her attention toward the two.

A faraway look came over Kagome, "I know I'm privileged, and I should be grateful, but it can get lonely."

"Keh." Everyone's attention was turned toward Inuyasha. He continued to look forward not giving the girl a glance. "Surrounded by people that submit to your every whim. Yeah, sounds like a real lonely existence."

Miroku swung his spiritual staff to hit the half demon upside the head. "Do you not know the meaning of tact?"

Kagome shrugged, "That's okay. He's right, I'm constantly surrounded by people. . . but sometimes that's the loneliest existence." She chuckled, "Then what would I know right?"

Feeling the awkwardness of the situation Sango tried to change the subject, "So, this intended of yours. How did you two meet?"

This time Inuyasha did glance back but quickly turned forward. Kagome scrunched her brows, "Honestly? I don't remember."

Sango smiled, "Childhood friends?"

"I think the engagement was forced upon me." Kagome shrugged in her mind. Well, at least she was not lying. Avoiding the truth a bit, but not lying.

"An arranged marriage?" Miroku questioned.

Thinking it over Kagome nodded, "In a way."

"So is there a set date for the wedding?" Sango queried as she pet the soft fur of Kirara that rested within her arms.

"Not that I know of. . . then again he could have easily set a date without me knowing."

Inuyasha turned his head slightly, "I'd get rid of a guy like that."

"Thanks of the advice Inuyasha."

Sango scorned the half demon, "Don't say things like that. For all you know Kagome might be in love with the guy."

Inuyasha lowered his brows at that but continued on forward. Kagome did not deny Sango's statement, what was she supposed to say? This time, she was the one to change the subject, before she revealed something she did not want to. "So how much longer till we get there?"

"What? You're already tired?" Inuyasha mumbled on about weak humans.

Kagome glared at him, "When are you not a jerk?" She shook her head, "No, I'm not tired. Just want to know how much longer I'm going to have stand you."

Miroku was the one to answer before Inuyasha could say anything worse, "Including this day, it'll takes the whole of three days."

Kagome nodded, "Going from just before dawn to well after dusk right?"

The five companions were surprised. Sango tilted her head, "How would you know that?"

Biting her lip Kagome looked away, "Well, they say it takes an average of ten days to go from the Eastern Lands to the Western Lands and also from the Southern Lands to the Northern Lands. Being that the Eastern lands and the Southern lands have a distance between them that is almost exactly half, you would assume that the average person would take five days. Being that you told me it would take three days, it would mean that you travel for longer periods of time during each day than the usual traveler. A common traveler would go from sunrise to sunset, hiding away most of the night from the hunting nocturnal demons."

Silence fell upon them until they heard Inuyasha laughing, "You're a piece of work princess."

Catching the insulting tone in his voice she glared at him, "Excuse me?"

He smirked, "What? Did one of your bodyguards explain all that to you? If I were you, I wouldn't trust what they say. Eighty-three bodyguards and couldn't even protect one whimpering princess. . . wait, it's eighty-two now isn't it?"

She glared him and stomped past Miroku to come face to face with him. Raising her hand she slapped him across the face and glared up at him. Although at a shorter stature she kept her own as she lifted her chin to seethe at him. "No one, and I mean no one talks about my men that way. If you utter another word of insult about them I will personally rip your ears off and shove them down your throat."

Inuyasha was taken aback by the amount of strength that was within that one slap, but was more surprised by her threat. Not the fact she gave a threat, but the promise of it, that it was not an idle one.

She continued on in her rage. "Those men put their lives at risk everyday for me, but more importantly for their native land. They fight for the kingdom and its people, while you fight for money. They are the most honorable men I have ever met, while you can be bought."

Inuyasha had been willing to let it slide, especially after his uncalled for comment of one of her men dying; however, with her outburst of him being dishonorable he gripped her upper arm. His claws dug into her arms, a sensation that was much more painful because of her bruise. Kagome, because of her pride did not flinch, not wanting to show her pain.

Snarling he glared her, "I would watch that mouth of yours."

"Or what? You'll sell me to the first slave trader we come across?" There was no way she would back down now.

"No, because I'm not one of your bodyguards. My assignment is to take you back to your fiancée, I was never told you would need to be alive." He tilted his head and sneered. "Just as long as I get my money right bitch?"

He shoved Kagome away but she made a skilled one step back to catch herself. Sango went up toward them to separate the two and glared at Inuyasha, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"She talks of honor and defending land when she knows nothing." Inuyasha gave a final hostile stare to Kagome, "Get off your high horse princess. You know nothing about me, I'm a half demon. A breed you obviously have no experience with."

He walked ahead but Kagome yelled out, "What does it matter what you are, when you don't care about the role you play in this world?"

He stopped in his movement but after a second he continued on. Miroku sighed and clasped Kagome's shoulder motioning for her to keep walking as well. "Please don't judge Inuyasha by what you see today. He always gives off the impression of a pompous ass with little to no morals, but in my life I have never met someone as noble as him and as loyal to his friends. He's lived a difficult life and I'm afraid it hardened him."

Kagome looked on with a stoic expression at Inuyasha. "I know all too well about what you're talking about."

The rest of the morning was spent trekking the paths through the Central Lands in silence. No words were exchanged as the scenery changed from the dense forest to an open plain to a hillside. A few hours past high noon and a few hours before sunset Inuyasha glanced over at Miroku nodding. Apparently it was a signal indicating for them to rest and eat their one and only meal of the day.

Without a second glance back at the group Inuyasha disappeared behind a line of trees that grew close to the path. Noticing that Kagome watched him leave Sango sighed, "Don't worry about him. He probably just left to brood."

Shippou smiled up at Kagome, "He's a lot nicer than he lets on."

She nodded and followed the way Inuyasha had left, ignoring everyone else's advice against doing so. Weaving through the trees she found herself clearing the densely growing vegetation and stumbled upon a small river. A few feet to the left sat the sulking half demon on a boulder.

He did not turn his head but his ears swiveled toward her, an indication that he knew she was there. Tentatively she walked forward to stand next to where he sat.

She glanced at him then looked back at the river. "I'm sorry."

After getting over the initial shock he stared at her, "Are you serious?"

Nodding, she continued to watch the water flow steadily, "I shouldn't have said what I said... I don't know anything about you, I shouldn't have judged so quickly."

He lowered his brows in question, "What made you change your mind about me?"

She stared at him then smiled, "What makes you think that I change my mind?"

"Then why the hell are you apologizing?"

She shrugged, "I might be right in my judgment, I might not be. But you're the one that's going to have to prove me right or wrong." Glancing back at the trees she tilted her head, "Besides, your friends are completely convinced you're this softy inside. And I'm willing to find out on my own."

Inuyasha continued to stare at her then looked away to stare down river. "I never apologize." She raised her eyebrows at him as he turned to look back at her, "But I know owe you one."

She smiled, "Thanks. I know that's as close to a sorry as I'm ever going to get from you and I appreciate it."

He nodded, "I shouldn't have said what I said about the Northern men... especially about the one you lost."

Kagome looked away, "I can't believe... god, and Rinji was still so young."

"Did he die protecting you?"

She shook her head, "That's the thing. He was just walking back to camp and an arrow pierced his heart." She fisted her hands in rage, "It was a cowardly shot by Onigumo."

He continued to question her, "Did you get captured in the space of the distraction?"

Kagome sighed her next words, "I never got captured."

Confusion ran across his features. "What?"

"I turned myself in... Onigumo had us surrounded and there was no escape. He offered to trade the men's lives for mine. Obviously, I accepted the trade. I was taken prisoner and knocked out for six days. When I woke up he talked about how he wanted me as his wife and whatnot. That's when he dislocated my shoulders and you came sweeping in." She smiled up at him, "My hero."

He blushed at her smile and words. Quickly turning away he gave his signature response: "Keh."

"I really haven't thanked you for that. Preventing rape, and popping my shoulder back into its socket. I'm just glad someone that knew how to do that came instead of someone else."

He glanced back at her and raised a brow, "Someone that knows how to prevent rape?"

She chuckled, "No, someone that can relocate my shoulder. I could have lost the use of my arms if you did it wrong."

The half demon faced back toward her, "I was surprised that you didn't take my advice on biting down on something. You could have bit off your tongue or shattered your teeth."

She shrugged, "I wasn't too worried about that."

"How... I'm not sure if I should be asking this."

"Now you're observing some tact?" Kagome laughed, "Just ask the question."

He lowered his brows, "How do you know you weren't raped during the six days you were knocked out."

Kagome smiled, "My dagger. It was still strapped on the inside of my thigh when I woke up. Anyways, I don't think Onigumo is the type of guy that would rape a girl in her sleep and not rub it in her face the moment she wakes up."

"You're taking the situation lightly. I mean what happened to you, because you take what happened to the men very seriously."

She shrugged, "These kinds of things happen to me all too often to worry about all the time."

He was taken aback in surprise. "You're taken hostage a lot?"

Kagome froze before answering, she couldn't very well tell him the truth. "Yeah, you could say that."

He lifted an eyebrow and sighed. Hopping off the boulder he stood next to her. "Look, I know you're skirting around topics because you want to keep certain things hidden."

Her eyes widened, "I don-"

He smirked, "Don't worry about. I get it. You won't be hearing about my deepest darkest secrets, I don't expect you to tell me yours."

Kagome smiled at that, "Thank you."

Turning away he walked toward the trees. "Let's get back princess."

Catching up to him she shook her head, "The name's Kagome."

Unknown to the young woman the half demon was hiding his blush and a stirring of new emotion was going through him because of her.

Once again on the path to the Eastern Lands the companions walked in silence. Slightly irritated by the constant quiet, Kagome faced Sango and posed a question. "I've been wanting to ask you a question."

The demon slayer brought her attention to the only other female companion of the group, -aside from Kirara of course. It had been years since she held a conversation with another woman, Kagome was a nice break from the masculine topics of conversation her long-time companions addressed. "Go ahead."

Kagome nodded as her eyes looked toward the emblem and garbs Sango sported. "You wear the uniform and crest of legendary demon slayer tribe, but from what I've heard the entire tribe has been killed off." Noticing the immediate saddened expression on Sango's face Kagome waved her hands in front of her. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked something so personal."

Shaking her head the demon slayer sighed, "No, it's fine. It's just. . . you're right. My tribe was massacred years ago. . . I was the only survivor."

Kagome nodded sympathetically, "I'm sorry."

"It was a hoard of demons. They swooped in without warning and took out the entire tribe... my family... I was lucky enough to have been attacked, but thought to be dead. After they left I sifted through the remains of my once great village but there were no survivors except for Kirara.

"I buried the dead -all of them. Afterwards I put on my slaying clothes, strapped on my hiraikotsu, and left my village forever. A few months later I ran into Inuyasha, Shippou, and Miroku. Due to a series of events I thought that Inuyasha was the demon that sent the other demons to attack my village so I tried to kill him."

"She didn't stand a chance." Inuyasha called back as he kept walking forward.

Sango smiled, "Anyways, we figured out it was a series of deceptions. I was going to keep traveling on my own but Miroku and Shippou invited me to join their traveling group. I decided to stay after Inuyasha said he didn't care either way, which is pretty much an invitation coming from him."

Now it was Kagome's turn to smile, "You found another family."

Shrugging with the smile still in place Sango spoke, "If you could call this dysfunctional group a family."

"Family doesn't have to be only about blood. Don't get me wrong, blood is important but sometimes it's not the most important thing."

Inuyasha smirked, "With a phrase like that people will think you don't like your parents that much."

Kagome shrugged, "That couldn't be further from the truth. My parent are..." Her words trailed off as her attention was taken toward the dense woods that lined them to the left.

Scrunching his brows he followed her line of vision, "What are you looking at?"

"I thought I heard something."

The half demon laughed, "Trust me, you won't hear anything before I do. Besides the freakishly cheerful chirping, there is no other noise coming from those trees." Continuing on the path he called back, "Hurry it up, I'm not about to make this trip any longer than it needs to-"

His words were cut off when he heard a thump behind him. Turning quickly he saw Kagome hitting the ground as an arrow piercing through her travel clothes right at where her heart would be. In a flash he was by her side, "Kagome!"

Gasping for breath she stared with widened eyes at the sky. Pulling in enough air to gasp out to Inuyasha, "Get them."

"But!"

She shook her head just faintly, "I'll be fine. Go."

Staring at her a moment he nodded sternly and leapt off toward the source of the arrow. Adrenaline pumped through him as the need and determination to catch the culprit. The forest scenery rushed passed him as he kept chase. How did he not smell them? How did he not hear them? And more importantly how did Kagome sense someone there?

The trees suddenly halted when he came upon a river. Sniffing the air he caught no scent nor did he see any tracks to tell him where they had gone. Having probably taken to continue upon the water to loose him, he had lost them. Kicking dirt up, he glared up and down the river. He contemplated trying to follow them but knew they were a lost cause. Whoever they had been were fast enough to lose him. Growling he spun back toward the direction from which he came.

Coming upon the path again in record time he found his companions huddled around the laying form of the fallen girl.

"Is she dead?"

His long-time companion all turned to glare at him. But what caught his attention more was the bitingly sarcastic voice of the princess. "As much as you want me to be, I'm not dead yet."

Coming to stand over the group he was surprised to see that Kagome was perfectly fine except for a light hole piercing through her clothing. "How. . ."

Rubbing the spot over her chest she winced, "I'm going to end up with a bruise there." Noticing the confusion still marring Inuyasha's face she gestured toward the forgotten arrow next to her. There it laid, the weapon of assassination, but instead of piercing her heart, it pierced an innocent looking acorn. "That's the acorn Shippou gave me for good luck. As effective as that one was, I think everyone should carry those things around."

Remaining silent he looked from the arrow then to her. Something was off here. She had sensed that something was within the line of trees when he hadn't. He had also seen her raise upon on her toes so that the arrow would hit her in the heart instead of the shoulder. He wasn't sure if the archer had meant to injure her or kill her, but in the end Kagome was the one that had controlled the outcome. Staring at her for a long moment he turned his gaze away from her and made a point to continue on their journey.

Ignoring the grumbling of the group and calls of him being insensitive he kept on. Too many questions were spinning around in his head. Did Kagome know that the acorn would be hit instead of her if she moved slightly? Did she know that if she stayed in the position she was in she would have suffered an injury to the shoulder? But then that could have much easily been avoided with her ducking if she held that kind of speed. He stole a glance back at the girl that was walking surprisingly steady despite what had just happened. Had she taken the arrow so close to her heart so that whoever had shot her would believe her to be dead?

Whipping his head forward he frowned. If that were true that means he had been a pawn in her deception toward the archer. She told him to chase after them, forcing them to flee and not be a witness to her lack of injury or death.

Who and what the hell was Kagome really?

xXx

A/N: PLEASE do not try to relocate a shoulder of a person. . . I have only seen it done by a professional ONCE and the last thing you want to do is to do it on your own and mess up the person's arm for the rest of their lives. Call for help or take them to the hospital. Unless you're a professional you should not relocate a person's arm. I know, I know, they do it in the movies but trust me, it is not that simple.


	3. At the End of a Prayer

1Author Notes: Is it weird that I'm proud of myself that I got this chapter out in less than 3 months? Muhaha! A month and a half people! Actually, it might even be a little less than that. Anyways, I won't keep you from the chapter. Please review!!!! Enjoy the chappie!

Disclaimer: If I owned Inuyasha I wouldn't be wasting my time at college

**At the End of Prayer**

By Hoshi-ni-Onegai

"Is something wrong Inuyasha?" Miroku inquired from his place in the camp as the rest of the group was going about getting ready for the start of the second day of travel.

His back toward the group Inuyasha glanced back but did not turn all the way. Arms crossed he stared out toward the winding road that the group would be traveling upon.

Going up the hanyou Miroku lowered his voice. "Since the incident with the arrow yesterday you have been very quite. What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing aside from the usual."

The monk sighed, "You also don't seem to be too worried about the shooters from yesterday."

Inuyasha's brows furrowed a bit, "They won't come after her again."

"How are you so sure?"

"They think that she got shot in the heart. To them, she's as good as dead."

Miroku nodded in understanding and turned to greet the women as they came up to them. "Good morning ladies, I trust you rested well."

Sango rolled her eyes and brushed passed him to head toward the road. "Don't start with me. It's way too early for your lechery."

Kagome smiled and bowed toward both of them and followed after Sango.

"She's very polite... it's obviously the noble upbringing."

Inuyasha glanced at the monk, "I sometimes wonder if she's really noble or not."

Confusion went across Miroku's face, "I highly doubt that the arrogant prince of the Eastern Lands would settle for anyone less than nobility."

"Yeah. . . but there's something off about her. . ."

Sighing he patted his friend's back, "Don't let your suspicions get in the way of getting to know her Inuyasha."

Rolling his eyes Inuyasha walked ahead of the monk to follow the women, "I don't need to get to know her, it's not part of the job."

A knowing smile spread across Miroku's face as he pushed off his staff and walked onward.

The day continued on without much occurring and the border of the Central Lands was soon approaching. Being that they were granted safe passage through the Eastern Lands, they had little to worry about when reaching it but nothing could compare to the sacred and peaceful neutrality of the Central Lands.

Slowing her pace down a bit Kagome made it so that she was instep with Miroku who also had Inuyasha walking to the other side of him.

He smiled down at the shorter and younger woman, "Yes Miss Kagome?"

Tilting her head to the side she gave him a once over. Seeing the blatant movement of her head and eyes Inuyasha frowned but did not comment.

"Judging by your robes I'm assuming you're a holy man."

At Kagome's statement Sango let out a laugh but attempted to quiet it down immediately afterward. With his ever-present smile on his face Miroku nodded, "I come from a long line of monks from the old-world faith."

"Then you must be from the northern border of the Central Lands. They're the only monks that allow marriage and procreation."

He was a bit taken aback, "I didn't know that you knew so much about the faiths of the different lands."

She shrugged, "My father made sure that I would know about all the lands and the people living in them. I sometimes don't think that I retained as much as I would have liked but I try." Pointing to the monk's right hand she let a curious tone lace into her voice, "I've met the monks of your faith many times over, but I've never met one with their hand sealed off with prayer beads... I've heard stories a monk who did, but my father said his name was Tomoe."

Surprise entered Miroku's eyes but they soon went away to hold a gentle saddened gaze within them. "Tomoe was my grandfather. He died years ago by a hex that plagues my family... This arm is cursed with a wind tunnel, a void within my hand that sucks everything in to it... It grows wider every year, and it'll eventually engulf me too."

Kagome nodded in understanding, "If it's a curse I'm guessing there's a way to break it?"

"That's why I decided to leave the temple and find the cure for it. It's been so long, that my family doesn't even know why we have it in the first place."

"I hope you find your answer soon."

Miroku smiled, "I wish the same for you."

Kagome paused in her step for a beat, surprised by his comment but bowed in respectful understanding. Speeding up to catch up with Sango, Shippou, and Kirara once again she glimpsed back to make eye contact with Inuyasha before facing forward once again.

"What was that about monk?" Inuyasha inquired as he observed Kagome's back.

"What do you mean? She asked me about my hand and I answered, she didn't delve and dig so I thought it innocent enough to tell her."

He shook his head, "No, not that. Your last comment."

Miroku shrugged, "Being courteous."

Inuyasha didn't believe his companion's reasoning for a second, but didn't push the matter further. There were some things that confused him about the monk even after so many years of knowing him. He was not about to try figuring it out anytime soon.

Crossing into the Eastern Lands by midday the grouped stopped at the edge of the road to take a break.

Kagome smiled at Sango, "Nice to be back in your home land huh?"

Sango shrugged, "In a way it is, because I know these lands so well... but after what happened to my village it's hard to call this place home anymore."

A saddened expression fell across Kagome's face, "I'm sorry to bring up such bad memories."

Smiling she waved her hands, "Don't worry about it." At attempt to change the drift of mood and conversation Sango moved toward the other girl and gestured to her shoulders. "Let me take a look at your bruises."

Nodding Kagome rolled up her sleeves to reveal shoulders that were still bruised but healing at a rate that was above human standards. Seeing the surprised look in Sango's eyes she sighed, "I tend to heal quickly."

"For a human."

Hearing the added comment by Inuyasha, Kagome stared at him flatly. "Well, we all can't be healing at speedy rates like you Inuyasha."

"Keh."

Shippou cheerfully interjected as he smiled up at Kagome, "It's a good thing you're healing so fast. I don't think your intended would be happy to see your skin like that."

Kagome laughed, "What? All ugly and purple? I guess he wouldn't."

"Oh to be at the prime age to wed. . . I missed that point sometime during my foolish wanderings." Miroku dramatically sighed.

"Prime age? I don't know what customs you hold but I'm passed my prime. The moment I get a cat, people are going to start calling me a spinster." She furrowed her brows, "Anyways, you're a man. Your prime years are from age eighteen to thirty-five."

Sango nodded, "I'm also missed that boat. I never understood the double standard. I don't get why women have to be married by the time they're fifteen..." Her words trailed off when she realized what was being said. Staring at Kagome in surprise she tilted her head. "Wait... that can't be right... You can't be older than fifteen."

Kagome laughed, "Do I look that young?"

"Then... how old are you?"

Smiling she scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. "I'm nineteen. . . twenty by the beginning of autumn."

This time it was Inuyasha's turn to be surprised, "What? I thought you were fifteen or something."

"Well, it's not like I told you that."

But Inuyasha shook his head, "But you're engaged to the pompous idiot from the Eastern Lands! He'd never marry someone passed their prime."

Miroku raised his staff to whack the hanyou swiftly across the head with it. "You really don't know what's rude do you Inuyasha? Don't mind him Miss Kagome, I don't think you're past your prime. You're very much in it."

Kagome shook her head laughing, "Oh I don't care what comes out of his mouth anymore. And flattery will get you no where monk."

Sango sighed, "I just can't believe you're nineteen, when I first saw you I thought you were fifteen or sixteen..."

Mocking hurt Kagome peeked down her own shirt, "Am I that underdeveloped?"

A blush adorned Inuyasha's face at her comment as the thought that she was the last thing from underdeveloped came to mind. Shaking those thoughts away he tried to hide his blush with his bangs.

"So how old are all of you?" She questioned as she stretched back in the grass.

Sango answered first, "I'm twenty, soon to be twenty-one within the next moon cycle."

"I am at the ripe old age of twenty-three." Miroku stated and added afterward, "But also the perfect age for my Sango." That earned him a smack upside the head.

Shippou jumped up and down exclaiming, "I'm six... ish."

Kagome smiled down at him, "You're practically a man Shippou." Looking up at the person that had yet to answer she nodded, "And what about you Inuyasha?"

A pensive expression came upon him, "Uh... well... huh... I don't know."

"You don't know? Can you not count? Because if you can't, there's no shame in that."

Inuyasha sputtered in indignation. "I can count. I can add, subtract, and find the area under a curve. Just because I'm a hanyou doesn't automatically make me an illiterate."

Huffing at his statement she stood up, "I didn't say that did I? I just said that if you didn't know how to count it wouldn't be that big of a deal!"

Growling he spat out, "I was born in the sixty-first year of the Taishou dynasty. There! You can try figuring out how old I am."

"The Taishou dynasty was part of the Western calendar, before it was standardized across all the lands." Kagome thought on it a bit. "Wait a minute. the Taishou dynasty ended in sixty-eighth year with the great Western and Northern war -that was over a hundred years ago."

Pausing for a moment Kagome's mind went through her knowledge of history and simple math. Eyes widening with surprise she gasped, "That would make you a hundred thirty-seven."

Inuyasha thought the figure over for a short breath then shrugged, "I guess that sounds about right." Seeing the gaping look on Kagome face he smirked, "I don't know why you're surprised. Youkai age slower than humans, it would've safe to assume that hanyous do too."

"But my father never said-"

"Look princess, don't rely on your father to tell you everything in life. You have to learn some things on your own, not just have everyone tell you and you relaying shit back."

At his comment anger filled her eyes and she was about to snap back at him but thought better of it. Rising to his insults would just lead them into an argument, and arguing with Inuyasha proved to be more tiring than attended court meetings. Ignoring his words she stood up and stretched. "Should we keep moving?"

Impressed by her control of emotions Miroku nodded, "That seems like the best course of action. I'm sure your intended is anxious to see you."

Hearing the mention of her 'intended' again Kagome fell into a pensive mood. To say she had an intended would not be lying, but saying that her intended was from the Eastern Lands was a blatant lie. She was brought out of her thoughts when Inuyasha spoke to her.

"Don't think so much when you walk. You might end up with an arrow in your chest again."

Kagome furrowed her brows, "It's not like I went looking for that last arrow."

The hanyou shrugged, "I don't know about that."

Her eyes narrowed, "What are you trying to say Inuyasha?"

He glanced down at the woman next to him. Taking in her small frame and her delicate features he sighed, it was unlikely that this slip of a girl could be guilty of strategically taking the arrow to her chest. Very unlikely. "How did you know my name?"

"What?"

"When you first woke up, you knew my name by just looking at me." It was a desperate attempt at changing the subject and to Inuyasha's relief it seemed to have worked.

She glanced down at the sword that was slung next to his hip, "It was your tessaiga."

He was surprised at her response, "How do you know the name of my sword?"

"I travel a lot, I didn't read it from my books or anything like that. Word of mouth really."

"God, the more people that know about it, the more problems it attracts."

Kagome looked at him in question. "Problems?"

"Yeah, they see it as a way to prove themselves by beating me or something." She struggled to hold in a laugh at his words. Raising a brow at her little burst he peered down at her face, "What's so funny?"

She giggled, "One of my men, Izumi, he's been going on and on about how he is going to challenge you the first chance he gets. He's determined that his clan's sword fighting skill is superior to any other, even a demon sword."

The smile that she held when speaking about her men made his heart skip a beat. She was usually so pensive; the genuine quality of the smile was something that he wondered if he would see without the mention of her men. The half demon was brought out of his thought process when Kagome snapped her fingers in front of his face.

"Hey, you in there?" Focusing his eyes and looking down at her he tilted his head. Laughing she walked backwards on the path, "You should follow your own advice about thinking and walking. You never know what you'll miss on the way."

Hearing her laughter and seeing her smile with the wind tussling her long raven locks he couldn't help but agree with her. Groaning mentally he shook his head. God, he was getting sappy in his old age.

Night came and morning followed soon after. Kagome stretched as everyone was beginning to rouse from their sleep. "So how much more do we have left to travel?"

Sango stood up and stared up at the sun for a moment. "We should be arriving at Lupus, the capital of the Eastern Lands, by late evening."

Kagome nodded, "It's been a while since my last visit to Lupus. Are you from around that area?"

Smiling she shook her head, "Not really. I'm from a village further north, near the mountains of Denali."

"Oh, you mean by Canis? I know a friend that lives in that city."

Walking along side the younger girl Sango smiled, "I lived a short walk away from there."

Inuyasha called back from the head of the group, "We'll be coming up to town soon."

"So what Inuyasha? We stop in towns all the time." Shippou questioned next to him.

Giving the kit a deadpan look he answered, "We're not stopping. I don't care how much you guys miss civilization. We'll be in Lupus soon enough."

Coming upon the town they got a good many stares and hushed murmurs. Kagome leaned toward Inuyasha whispering toward him. "Is this how it usually is walking through towns?"

The hanyou shrugged, "Can you blame them? This is a pretty weird group of people to see." Glancing down at her he raised a brow, "Why are you hiding your necklace?"

Bringing her hand up to feel her pendant tucked under her clothing she sighed, "It's my family crest. One look at it and people know I'm nobility."

"I think your clothes give that away."

"I'd rather they think I stole them."

He furrowed his brows, "You're weird."

"Right back at you."

Their conversation was put to a halt when a handsome man of twenties years or so walked up to them and bowed respectfully toward Kagome. Raising a quizzically brow at the finely dressed man Kagome registered his face. She had seen it some where before... "Viscount Atsushi!"

The man smiled and looked up at the young girl. "I'm glad you remember me my lady. I feared you would forget me due to your absence from the Eastern Lands' courts."

Kagome nodded, "I fear that the need for my presence at the Northern Lands has kept me busy during the seasons." Smiling she scanned her eyes around the townsmen and looked back at the viscount. "I did not realize that I would be traveling through your town Viscount."

"I was not made aware either, however you are welcome here anytime and my house is open to you and your acquaintances, my grace."

Bowing her head she responded, "I thank you for your hospitality Viscount, but I am disappointed to inform that my acquaintances and I are making the most amount of haste for the city of Lupus."

Blushing that Kagome was bowing lower and her mention of Lupus, Atsushi bowed further. "How insolent of me! I should have immediately surmised that your passage would be to reach the capital. Allow me to escort you to the edge of the town."

Kagome shook her head and placed a gentle hand upon the still bowing viscount in a gesture for him to rise. "Do not fret. You need not worry for my acquaintances or I. I will see myself on with the journey. Now, I shall not keep you from your duties." Bowing once again to the man Kagome turned away. "I thank you for your warm welcome and I will not forget your kindness. I hope to see you in following seasons at court."

Bowing, Atsushi bid Kagome and the group farewell as they made their way out of the town. Back on the dirt roads of the countryside everyone stared at Kagome in a new light.

Feeling the stares, she shrunk down a bit. "What?"

"You acted so proper!"

At Inuyasha's reliably untactful words Kagome glared at him. "I resent that. Anyways, I'm not sure why any of you are surprised. You all know I'm from nobility."

"But it sounded so stuffy."

Smiling down at Shippou Kagome shrugged, "That's because it is stuffy. But I can't really talk to nobles in any way I want. People would talk, saying I'm brash and rude."

Sango smiled nervously, "It's just that it didn't really hit us that you were really from that world."

A frown graced her face. "You're going to treat me differently from now on aren't you?"

Inuyasha laughed, "What's the difference? You're not going to see any of us after today."

His words struck her somewhere and she fell silent for the rest of the day. Come evening the city of Lupus came into view along with the palace and its sky reaching towers. Standing outside the gates of the city the guards called down to them.

"Identify yourselves!"

Glancing up at the men Kagome reached into her shirt and pulled out her pendant. "It is I, Kagome, Monarch of the Northern Lands."

As the words slipped from her mouth with practiced ease she felt she just sealed her fate. No matter how much she didn't want Sango, Miroku, Shippou and especially not Inuyasha to find out about who she was, it couldn't be helped. It would have happened eventually, and she decided that it was best learning from her mouth than from someone else.

"Monarch?" Hearing the questioning voice of the hanyou Kagome smiled sadly and glanced at him.

"Thank you, sir, for your courageous services." As she spoke the gates opened and she was swept away in a flurry of palace servants.

Left to watch her disappear, Inuyasha was dumbfounded. He had called her princess not because he thought she was one, but because she was engaged to a prince. He had assumed that Kagome was a baroness or duchess of the Northern Lands, not the princess herself. Inuyasha hit himself in his mind. He had written Kagome off as just a pretty face that the prince had fallen for and arranged marriage to. He had not even considered the shear enormity of the possible alliance that could be made between the Eastern and Northern Lands.

Inuyasha was pulled out of his thoughts when one of the guards came up to him. "His majesty asks for your audience in the grand thrown room."

Rolling his eyes Inuyasha tilted his head for his comrades to follow. He would go in, take payment, and leave. This was just another job. He was getting paid for this. Then why was it that the thought of imbursement slipped his mind as the image of his recently released charge danced through his thoughts?

xXx

A/N: I have to say that I didn't really enjoy writing this chapter. It's still at the point where I'm setting up the story and I still have to figure out the culture and ways of this world I made up. There is also A LOT of talking going on in this chapter. So much, that even I got a bit bored writing it. There is just so much information that I need to put down that I can't wait to get to the action. Well, I'll see you guys in the next chapter! Please review!!! ^o^


	4. Secrets That We Keep

1Author Notes: I'm surprised I have gotten this far in this fic already. . . honestly, I hit the ground running with this fic and with the short time in I have most of the storyline figured out ready to be written. . . I hope you don't give up on this fic or "Remembering You" if you are a reader of that as well. . . either way, enjoy the chappie!

Disclaimer: I own the patented Inuyasha torture device I like to call my laptop. . .

**Secrets That We Keep **

By Hoshi-ni-Onegai

"I'm surprised you're back so quickly."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes at the prince. "You said that if I came back earlier than the fourteen days, you'd pay me a quarter of the payment of each day I was early." He gave his famous smirk, "Now give me my payment. The original amount and the seven days I came early."

The prince gave him a death glare at his blatant rude tone. "I knew a hanyou like you would only be interested in money." He gestured for one of the servants to come forward. The man held a hefty sum of money in a pouch and reached it out toward the half demon. "Now that you have your payment I assume you would like to leave."

"That's usually the drill."

"Why don't you stick around for my bride-to-be to come out? I'm sure you would like to wish her well in marriage."

Hearing his words Inuyasha's eyes darkened. "Marriage? What? Now?"

The prince shrugged, "No time like the present I always sa-"

"Kouga!" The prince's words were cut off, as a livid Kagome slammed the side doors to the thrown room open. Storming up to where Prince Kouga of the Eastern Lands was sitting arrogantly at his throne, Kagome yelled. "I can not believe you! Of all the things to do!"

That's when Inuyasha and crew noticed Kagome state of dress. Instead of the traveling garment she had been wearing earlier, now she wore an embellished royal wedding gown in the style of the Eastern Lands. Her hair was pulled away from her face with a veil cascading down her back and she was slightly made up. If anyone thought her to be pretty before, now she was gorgeous. Angry- but still gorgeous.

"Where do you get off calling yourself my intended!" With her words Inuyasha's ears perked up in attention. This was a new development. And any development where the wolf demon got his ear yelled off was a good one in his book.

"But Kagome you're my woman. It's assumed that we would marry eventually." Kouga said in a panic as he tried to calm the furious young woman.

"Your woman! Don't make me laugh! You know very well that my father arranged my marriage long before I was born and it was definitely not to you! And what about Ayame! She's still awaiting for you in Canis!"

Kouga smiled nervously, "You know he won't agree to marrying you Kagome. Also, Ayame is only a duchess. A union of the two monarchs of different lands would be a union for greater peace."

Kagome waved his comment off, "I don't care if he will marry me or not. This is not a time when I should be worrying about such things. Our lands are at war with the Southern Lands. I will not have the deaths of some many of our people upon my hands because I decided to settle down with a husband."

Pivoting on her heel she stomped away from him as she ripped the veil from her hair and tugged the arm-high white gloves off her fingers. She had been forced into this get-up, unable to protest before she had been tossed around by the female servants to be dressed to be Kouga's bride. She stopped in her steps as she noticed that Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, Shippou, and even Kirara were there and in her path out the main doors.

"Oh. . . hi. . . um. . . I'm slightly ashamed of my outburst back there, so please don't mind me." Kagome blushed as she avoided eye contact with everyone. She felt as if she had betrayed their trust, and she still had yet to work up the courage to look them directly in the eye.

Kouga's yelling came up behind her as he pulled her away from any proximity of Inuyasha. "Get away from the filthy hanyou Kagome! He was considered the best for the retrieval of kidnappings but there is no need for you to even speak to one of such disgusting blood."

Inuyasha growled and was about give the prince a piece of his mind when Kagome did it instead. "Don't you dare call him or any half demon filthy or disgusting." She ripped her arm away from his grasp and said in an icy tone. "There are moments when I can tolerate and even enjoy your presence Kouga. But I will not let you say such things of any creature that exists under the sun."

Rolling his eyes Inuyasha turned away, "Stop being so righteous. People will start think you mean it."

Kouga glared at him, "Do not use a tone like that toward your superiors."

The half demon snorted, "Do you see a crest on me? I don't belong to any of your kingdoms. So, from the way I see it I see us as equals."

"Why you insolent-"

"He is right though. I am no more of a creature of the world than he is. I highly doubt if my birthright will matter in the after life." Kagome smiled sadly.

Kouga sighed, "Please let us step away from this issue and speak of a union between our lands."

She prompt responded the prince with a glare. "There will be no union."

"Then an alliance to defeat Onigumo. He killed your father and destroyed my land and massacred a town in my domain, I will have my strongest fight at the side of your men. Inuyasha!"

Scrowling the hanyou in question yelled back. "What! I'm right fucking here you know, there is no fucking reason to yell."

Ignoring his comment Kouga continued. "You and your men shall fight in the war against the South."

Inuyasha barked out a laugh, "Yeah right. You can send your own men on a suicide mission to war but you're not dragging me into it. I don't have any stupid oath to keep with your land so if you'll excuse me."

"Then fight with me Inuyasha."

Hearing the gentle but firm words from the woman he had escorted for the past couple of days he stopped in his tracks. Turning only his head he spoke to her with only his profile showing but no looking at her directly. "Why should I? I'm not about to fight for the arrogance of kings and most definitely not for the arrogance of a princess."

"Princess?" Kouga's questioning voice was cut off when Kagome raised a hand in a show of silence.

She stepped toward the turned away hanyou. "Then fight for the people of this pathetically divided land. Because of Onigumo we have brothers fighting brothers and the people's blood staining the ground. Join me to destroy that bastard and I assure you that no one will ever ask for the swing of your sword ever again.

After a pause Inuyasha sighed, "Why do you care so much?"

"Why don't you? These are your people."

At her remark he spun around and glowered at her. "These aren't my people. The humans spit on me for my youkai blood, and the youkai try to kill me for my human blood. I don't owe anything to anyone. If you wanted my help you shouldn't have shunned me from the day of my birth."

Soaking in his words and the pain that she heard behind them she nodded. Gathering up the skirt of her dress she settled herself of the ground to be sitting back upon her ankles. Bowing deeply, her forehead to the ground in front of her, with her hands at either side of her head.

"Then I bow before you, begging for your alliance in the war. I have never shunned you Inuyasha, and I never will. I admire your strength and skill. And I see it as a vital asset to our side. Please, fight for my people."

"What are you doing Kagome! Get up!" Kouga tried to pull her up from her place on the floor.

Kagome tugged her arm away from his graps and lashed out. "This man is the key to having a glimmer of hope for victory!"

Hearing her words and seeing the stern look in her eyes Kouga sighed. Turning his head toward the half demon he grumbled. "How much will it cost me for your services?"

Inuyasha glared at the prince. "My services? I'm not going to fight in a war I don't believe in."

"I can hardly believe that. You're easily bought." Kouga sneered back at him.

Kagome stood up and rested a hand upon Kouga's upper arm. "Leave him be. He may be a vital part of this war, but he will be of no use to us if he does not believe in the fight."

Seeing the interaction between the princess and the prince he turned on his heel. "Let's go lecher. I don't want to stay in this kingdom longer than I need to be."

The monk that had been quiet, along with the rest of their motley crew, sighed. Smiling and facing Kagome he bowed. "It has been a pleasure rescuing you your majesty."

Following the monk's example everyone but the turned away Inuyasha followed suit and bowed. Seeing the gestures of her previously comfortable travel companions she bowed toward them as well. "I am in debt to all of you. Thank you for your help and courage."

The monk dipped his head slightly and waved for his companions to see themselves out the door. As they slipped out of the grand hall Kagome couldn't help but stare at the backs of her rescuers. She doubted she would ever forget them or their self proclaimed leader with silver hair.

Months later we find our heroes doing hero like things. Being that they did not go to war, it is expected they replace their actions with something equally as worthy right?

"So they want us to get rid of rat demons?" Inuyasha scowled. He wanted a fight, a real one. Not one where a strong poison sprinkled around the farm could fix.

"It is a service they are willing to pay for. . . I see no reason not to do it." Miroku pointed out.

Sango shrugged. "I'm not about to say no to a job that's giving us money for it."

This had yet to lift Inuyasha's spirits. "How much are they paying us?"

Miroku scratched the back of his head. "Nine aurums. . ."

"What! That's it! That'll barely feed us all one meal!" Inuyasha continued to grumble as he marched toward the rat demon infested house.

The monk smiled at Sango, "Inuyasha truly is just a softy inside. He probably would have gone off to do the job for two aurums."

Sango smiled as well as she reached into her pouch for some herbs and her flint. "Might as well get started and smoke these things out."

A few days later the group can be found at the base of a tall tree with a saddened girl being calmed by Sango.

"It'll be okay little girl. Inuyasha will get your kitten out of that tree for you."

The said hanyou raised a brow. "What makes you think I'm going to waste my time getting a cat out of a tree?"

Sango gave him a stern look, "You'll be up and down in no time! Just get the kitten would you?"

"I'm a dog! I shouldn't be saving cats from trees!"

She responded with a roll of her eyes, "Yes, because you get along with all canines. You barely stayed in the same land as Kouga before you got us rushed out of their like common thieves."

Muttering about unpaid favors Inuyasha easily leapt to the high branch that the kitten had somehow found itself in. He gave the feline a deadpan look, "I can't believe I'm saving the enemy."

Scooping up the kitten he jumped off the branch to land deftly next to the girl. Motioning for the girl to take her pet he soon turned away to continue on whatever path the group had been on.

"God, I'm tired of these charity cases. We haven't had a real job in weeks! With the power like my wind scar, your wind tunnel, and Sango's hiraikotsu, you'd think people would be lining up for our services."

Miroku tilted his head, "But aren't you the one that turned down fighting in a war? If you really want to see more action I recommend we go to the city of Felidae and hope that Princess Kagome still needs our help."

With a contemplative look Inuyasha voiced his thoughts, "It's been months. Doubt she remembers who we are."

Shippou frowned at that, "I don't think so! I'm sure Kagome wouldn't forget us! We saved her!"

Inuyasha shrugged, "That's usually how it is with those kinds of people."

"I don't know who you met, but Kagome was kind to us!" Shippou growled at the older youkai. The princess had treated him well and cuddled him on occasion. He was not about to let anyone bad mouth her.

Inuyasha glared back, "She lied to us."

Miroku stepped in to stop the immature fight he could see starting. "She may have withheld her identity, but she did not blatantly lie to us."

Turning away from the group Inuyasha marched on. Miroku sighed and glanced at Sango that held a similar expression to his own. Inuyasha had felt deceived by Kagome not telling the whole truth. Although he had yet to say so directly, it was obvious to everyone in the group. Miroku and Sango went as far as to guess that the self-proclaimed lone hanyou had started to develop feelings the young northern monarch. But then again they could have been completely off base.

Later that afternoon the group stood by watching as Inuyasha foolishly decided that he had a sudden need to be violent.

"Are you sure you should be doing that?"

Inuyasha ears perked at the monk's question and tilted his head back slightly. "Why not? I checked if there were any villages near by or any packs of youkai. The only thing that are in the way are trees." Raising his sword once again he smirked. "I need the practice anyways."

Sango and Miroku glanced at each other and sighed as they watched their companion swinging his sword like a caveman.

Readying himself and sniffing the air he grinned, "Kaze no kizu!" With a defining swing of his sword Inuyasha let release a demonic gust of wind that cut savagely through the landscape.

Shouldering the heavy blade he let an arrogant smirk creep across his face. That is, until a glowing pink light streaking across its path cut up the kaze no kizu

"The fuck!" Whirling his head in the direction of the arrow he snapped at the shadowed figure. He glared at the figure but inwardly he was ecstatic. If someone was trying to sell him a fight he wasn't about to deny them. "Come out! I've been itching for a good fight."

Sango and Miroku ran up to where Inuyasha stood and readied themselves as well. "What just happened?"

Not taking his eyes off the figure Inuyasha shrugged, "No idea. But if he wants a fight he'll get one."

A tense moment later the figure stepped forward and lowered not his, but her, bow in surprise. "Inuyasha?"

His eyes widened in shock. Although he was in the Northern Lands he still had not expected to see her, actually, she was the last person he expected to see.

"Kagome?"

Kagome made quick work of the distance between them. Coming up to them she glanced from one person to another and back to Inuyasha. "What are you doing here?"

"That should be our question."

She frowned at that, "These are my lands."

Miroku stepped in and responded in Inuyasha's stead, "We just happen to be traveling through your lands your majesty."

Kagome sighed and shook her head. "Don't call me that. There is no reason that you should treat me any differently just because I'm not who you thought I was."

"With all due respect, I am sad to say I cannot call you so informally."

Looking away she scratched the back of her neck, "This is one of the reasons why I didn't tell you who I was."

"What? There were other reasons?" Inuyasha gritted out.

She locked eyes with him and crossed her arms shrugging. "Of course there were reasons. One of the first things taught to you as a royal is to never give away your identity to those unknown to you. It didn't matter to me that you came because of Kouga's orders to rescue me, I still wasn't sure if you weren't about to sell me to the dogs the moment you got the chance. Or worse, kill me."

Sango nodded, "That's understandable."

Just then a rustle came from the way of the trees from which Kagome came. The panicked voices of a plethora of men could be heard. "Lady Kagome!"

Inuyasha glanced down at the now groaning Kagome. She stood herself tall as the first couple men breeched the line of trees. Dressed in the armory and carrying weapons of the Northern royalty, this was obviously the royal army.

"Lady Kagome!" Coming to be a few feet away from her a tall and well-built man in his mid twenties came up to scold her. "Do not run off in such a manner. Are you injured my lady?"

Letting out an exasperated sigh Kagome smiled softly, and genuinely at the man. "Of course not Kazuma."

He smiled back at her, "I worry when you run off depending upon your sixth sense."

"Sixth sense?"

Kazuma and the hoard of men following him readied their weapons to be aimed at Inuyasha that had voiced his question. "Who dares to harm our Lady?"

Rolling her eyes Kagome sidestepped to stand in front of Inuyasha in a form of protecting him. "Stand down! For God's sake! I can defend myself if he meant any harm!"

The men obediently put away their weapons and Kazuma smiled. "Since the incident from a few months ago, you cannot blame us for being worried." He nodded toward Inuyasha but continued to address Kagome. "Do you know this man?"

Nodding she introduced her past saviors. "This is the group of rogue demon hunters I told you about. This is Sango, Miroku, Shippou, Kirara, and this, Kazuma, is Inuyasha."

Taking in the features of the hanyou Kazuma's eyes widened a fraction. "He looks just like-"

Kagome raised her eyes brows, smiled, and nodded. "I know. When I first saw him I thought he came back from the dead."

Kazuma gave Inuyasha once over than looked toward Kagome, "It's only at first glance. They have completely different faces and the ears. . ."

She laughed a bit, "Yeah, I noticed that too."

At this point Inuyasha growled toward the conversing two. "Stop talking about me as if I'm not here."

Brandishing a sword one of the soldiers from behind Kazuma came up to stand between Kagome and the growling hanyou. "Step away from my lady you demon."

The soldier in question received a resounding smack to the head from his lady. "I told you to stand down Takayuki! Don't make me beat you to next week."

"But my lady he growled out you. . ."

Rolling her eyes she deftly gripped the blade of the brash soldier's sword and tugged it away from his grasp. "This is the man that saved my life, he has the right to growl at me every so often." Flipping the sword in her hands she held it by the hilt and sheathed it back into Takayuki sheath. "Now keep your sword away until there is an actual threat."

"Are you saying that I'm not a threat wench?" Being called placid and unthreatening was something Inuyasha never forgave.

She responded with a glare. "Are you about to threaten me in my own lands?"

"We're in your wild lands princess, you practically have no jurisdiction here."

"Princess? Don't be an insolent fool, she is no princess." Again Takayuki came up to say indignantly, but was quickly pulled away by the back of his uniform collar by Kagome.

"Leave him alone."

Confusion raced across the face of Inuyasha, Miroku, and Sango. "You're not a princess?"

It didn't matter who voiced the question, because it was the same one on everyone's mind. No matter who voiced it the expression on their faces were different. Miroku and Sango confused; Shippou playing with a stray butterfly a few feet to the side; Kirara along with the tiny kit; Inuyasha. . . well, a flash of hurt and betrayal was evident on his face but it was soon dashed away with a mask of stoicism.

Kazuma was the one to push away the disturbance-causing Takayuki and stepped forward. "She is our Queen."

Inuyasha feigned disinterest as he snorted, "You're a married wench?"

Kagome shook her head, "No. When my parents both died, it was my obligation by birth to take the throne."

Kazuma smiled down at the young monarch. "She has reigned justly and well for four years."

"And you have fought well at my side for all of them." She returned the smile and anyone around them would notice that their was an unspoken acceptance between the two.

Sango furrowed her brows in question. "At your side?"

At Sango's question Kazuma frowned at Kagome, "You didn't tell them did you?"

Huffing she crossed her arms, "It's not exactly something you go telling every person you meet."

"Considering the situation did you not believe it would be useful to know?"

Kagome rolled her eyes, "You honestly think that it would have been useful? Do you even think they would believe me?"

"But my lady. . ."

"And stop calling me my lady!"

Inuyasha glanced at his companions then back at the disputing two. It seemed as if Kazuma was scolding Kagome for some reason, which seemed unusually being that she was queen. "So what were you hiding this time?

Seeing that Kagome was having difficulty responding Kazuma sighed. "My self and these eighty-two men serve under Queen Kagome of the Northern Lands. She is the leader of our kingdom and the General of the army."

"General?"

Glancing at Kagome, Kazuma saw that she wasn't resisting or forcing him to stop, he nodded. "Yes, the serving General of the army. . . You might know her as Ken wo Furu Otome, or the Maiden that wields the sword."

"Or Kagome: war fighting extraordinaire." Tugging on Kazuma's sleeve she rolled her eyes then motioned for the men to head south. "We don't have time for late introductions. We have a war to fight."

Nodding Kazuma tilted his head toward Inuyasha and his companions and soon followed suit with the other warriors. Kagome stood still while the men were making their way then turned to look at her one-time companions. "It was nice seeing you all again. You are welcome in my lands as long as you wish. But Inuyasha," seeing that she received the attention of the temperamental hanyou she smiled. "Please don't destroy my lands' wildlife with your sword anymore."

As she turned away to go off with the tail end of the men Inuyasha spoke up. "I knew."

Stopping in her tracks she glanced back a bit. "Wha- . . . How?"

"I. . . I didn't know you were the Maiden exactly. . . but. . . I knew you were a fighter, or someone that was hiding their strength."

She gave a defeated shrug. "Doesn't really matter anymore does it?"

"I didn't know that the Maiden was noble woman, let alone the Queen of the Northern Lands. Or that you actually existed, you're more of a legend than fact."

"Most people don't. . . and I'd see it as a favor I would like to return to you if you were to not spread that knowledge to my enemies too much."

"Is it really that big of a secret?"

There was a pause when she seemed as if she was thinking it over then she smiled sadly, "I guess not."

With no response from Inuyasha left, Kagome gave a final glance at his companions and tilted her head in their direction. Looking at Inuyasha finally, she raised her right hand to fist it in the air and held it over her heart. "May the gods be kind and protect you in battle."

Hearing the beginning of the parting words of warriors Inuyasha raised his right arm in the same gesture. "And may the gods be kind and protect you in your life."

Traditional reply given Kagome nodded. Inuyasha looked upon the woman with a new light. The helpless princess he had thought her to be had melted away to be replaced by the strong willed queen that did not blink at the idea of leading her army into battle. This was no ordinary royal serving his duty; this was a royal serving a duty that was not expected of her. Yet it was undeniable that he had heard the stories of her bravery and the battles she had won. The travel robes of the princess were also not present, but the clothing of a warrior with a lethal heirloom of a sword strapped to her waist. This was not the image of the princess that had plagued his thoughts even after three and half months. No. This was the presence of a queen and warrior that he respected a great deal more and that he would no doubt be unable to cast out of his thoughts as well.

"Let me fight with you."

Hearing the barely audible whispered words of the half demon Kagome turned around. "With me?"

Locking his golden amber eyes with her stormy azure gray ones Inuyasha took a step forward. His hands making quick work of the hilt tied to his waste, he brought the sword horizontal and before him. "I give you the allegiance of my sword to fight along side you in battle."

She stared at Inuyasha completely beside her self. This was something she was not expecting. Nor was she expecting Miroku to do a similar gesture with his staff; Sango with her hiraikotsu and Kirara transformed to her larger form standing proudly next to her; and Shippou with a hand full of his trickery leaves.

Glancing back she noticed that her men had stopped in their motion onward but did not approach her. Looking for the face of her seraphim, Kazuma, she gave him a questioning looking when she finally found him. Raising his brows he smiled, Kagome nodded and smiled back as well.

Revolving back around to look upon Inuyasha with his still raised sword Kagome nodded. Stepping toward the half demon she clasp her right hand over his that held the hilt of the sword. "I give you the gratitude of my people as you fight along side me in battle."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A/N: Check out fanart for this fic at http/ hoshi-ni-onegai.deviantart. com (take the spaces out, or go to my profile and click on my homepage) and tell me what you think!

Hope you liked this chapter! Review and tell me what you think! . . . please?

Thank you to my five reviewers! and combined that is):

Kagome's Reincarnation: Thank you for reading both my stories I will try my best to update as quickly as possible so please don't give up on me!

Tahitianbabe: I'm proud of myself that I was able to update within a month, hahaha. I always look forward to your reviews. o

IchikoKitsuneKoumori: Kagome happy? hahaha, you apparently don't know my other works

twinsnake1706: I'm glad I got you hooked. . . although that does make me feel a bit like a drug dealer. . .

inuyashaloverr: muahaha! now you know who the intended is. . . I know, when the mystery is revealed it's not as amazing as one would hope it to be, but oh well shrugs

Till next time! o


	5. In the Kingdom of the Blind

1Author Notes: I think this might be record time for me. I usually start up chapters the day I post just so I remind myself where I wanted to lead off, but I just couldn't stop myself. Thank you to all the reviews, I know this fic doesn't have the audience I hoped it would. . . but this chapter is for you! I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Disclaimer: All I own is my pride and that doesn't amount to much.

**In the Kingdom of the Blind**

By Hoshi-ni-Onegai

A strong man of even stronger principals stood at the entrance of his castle. At first glance anyone would just simply say that he was looking over the landscape of his kingdom, but anyone else that knew him any bit better would know that he was anxious. It had been a long season in which he did not see the love of his life and he wasn't sure if he would allow her to leave for the season in the coming year.

His ears perked as he heard a distant carriage coming over the hill that protruded before the castle. The galloping of hooves made him hopeful and a bright smile crept across his face as he saw the familiar carriage come up and over the hill.

As the carriage made short work of the remaining distance, he tried to collect himself as he walked calming down the steps. Little did he know that each step he took betrayed a cheerful spring showing his happiness. The carriage coming to a stop and footman opening the door he grinned as a dainty little hand reached to be helped out.

"Kagome!"

Looking up from her concentration on her feet, her eyes brightened immediately and ran into the strong arms of the man. "Father!"

Embraced within the arms of her father Kagome sighed, "I missed you so much."

"Same here kid." He pulled her back and looked upon his daughter that shared many of his facial features but had her mother's coloring -except for her surprising gray-blue eyes. "You've grown. . . I told you not to grow while you were away."

Giggling she hugged him again. "I tried but I could not stop. . . An entire season is far too long."

Wrapping one arm around her, he walked her back into her childhood home. "How about we say hell with courtesy and have you skip out on the courts next year?"

Playfully hitting him on the arm she shook her head. "And have us be thought the crudest of the four monarchs? I'm sure mother is turning in her grave even at the mention of it. Anyways, I'm home for two of the four seasons due to our Lands' relation with the South."

He frowned, "I still don't see why you must go to court. The noble women are introduced to all the eligible noble men to be eventually married. . . but I arranged your marriage years ago Kagome."

She smiled, "I know father, but it is still polite to attend court."

"And keep the men thinking you're available. Oh, you're such a heartbreaker. . . Just like your old man."

She laughed, "From what mother told me you were the one chasing after her in court."

He furrowed his brows, "Your mother always loved her stories."

"Oh don't disrespect her name." Snuggling into him she looked up to gaze at his face. "You haven't changed at all. . ."

He grinned, "Your father will always be this ruggedly handsome, don't worry."

Laughing she sat down in one of the chairs as they arrived in the sitting room. "Tell me what has occurred during this season. I can't think that nothing occurred in the three moons I have been gone."

A hard expression fell across the king's face but he shook it away. "No, nothing to concern yourself with Kagome."

"These will one day be the lands of my husband and my self, it does concern me."

His expression softened as he took in the resolved look of his only child. "These always were and will be your lands. You are my daughter. These land will be yours first, and your husband's second."

Gazing up at him she smiled. "Of course father."

He looked upon his daughter of thirteen years and wondered where the time had passed. It was a few short years ago when his wife had given birth to a beautiful baby girl and he had cradled her within his arms. Now, the girl was growing into a young woman and he couldn't help but think that she was slipping from his fingers. It had been a tragic day in his life when she had finally replaced calling him 'daddy' to 'father.'

Taking the seat next to her, he nodded. "So tell me about your season in the Eastern Lands."

Weeks later the king was occupied with the matters of his kingdom as he met with his advisors.

"Can't this be dealt with without a war?" Ryo, king of the Northern Lands and full time father of Kagome, sighed as he listened to his advisors talk about conflicts with the Southern Lands.

"I'm afraid that with how the relations are going it is unavoidable." Seeing the tired look of the king the advisor added, "But we will try to postpone it as much as possible."

Ryo nodded in understanding while one of the servants went up to speak to him. "Your daughter your majesty."

He turned his head toward the man, "What of her? Is she ill?"

Hearing the words of the protective father the servant shook his head smiling, "No your majesty. She wishes for your audience in the courtyard after your meeting."

With the servants words he stood and addressed his advisors. "I assume we are done here."

"Yes your majesty."

Not giving it a second thought he left out the doors leading to the courtyard. There, sitting amongst the flowers, which mysteriously always bloomed so vibrantly, sat his daughter and his wife's nephew.

"Kagome."

Looking up from the conversation with her cousin she smiled. "That was quick. I thought I would be waiting a few more hours."

Settling himself to sit amongst the flowers as well he smiled. "I can't leave my little princess waiting can I?" He took his attention toward the young man. "Hello Kazuma. How are your parents?"

"You know my mother. She's been telling me to bring Kagome to visit at some point. Says that she needs a woman's influence."

Ryo laughed, "Your mother is just like her sister. Kagome's mother was also always worried that she would lack female sensibility due to her having no sisters or female cousins."

Kagome rolled her eyes, "Kazuma is my only cousin father."

Shrugging he leaned back on his arms. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Well. . . you see, with you in meetings with advisors I find my self a bit bored."

He frowned at her words. Sure, he had been pretty much swamped since she had arrived, but that was because of the conflict arising with the aggressions in the Southern Lands. Now, if Onigumo could keep his men off the holy Central Lands and away from his borders and those of his allies he wouldn't be so busy. "Do you want to invite some of your friends from court for companionship?"

She sighed, "I spend most of my year with them, and it's court. . . I can't really be my self around them."

"So what do you suggest?. . . You're not about to ask for a pet again are you?"

Pushing away the tragic memories of dear Mr. Whiskers, Kagome shook her head. "No. But I would like to ask you permission of something. . ."

He stared at her warily. She was known to manipulate him as easily as her mother could. He mentally sighed, he would forever be doomed to be wrapped around Kagome's little finger. "What is it?"

Glancing at her cousin that nodded in encouragement she took a deep breath. "I want to train in sword fighting. . ."

"Oh God. . ."

She sat up to regard her father more urgently. "It would be good for me to know how to fight -to defend my self."

He turned his attention toward Kazuma. "I'm assuming you're behind all this?"

Kazuma shrugged and smiled at his uncle and king. "She's a very difficult person to say no to."

Bringing his attention back to his stubborn daughter he frowned, "Where did you get this idea anyways? When on earth have you had a need to defend yourself?"

"There was this boy at court-"

Without letting his daughter finish, he roared as fury entered his eyes. "I'll kill him! Who was it? Who was the bastard that tried to touch my daughter!"

She rolled her eyes. "Nothing like that father! He just said that it wasn't fair that a girl would be ruling the kingdom some day: a person that can't even defend herself. Then he went on to say with a couple other boys that the strongest of all of them should be the one I marry." Kagome frowned at the memory of what the boy had said. "I don't want to just end up being the woman behind the man."

He couldn't believe that the little girl he had sent to spend her first social season in the Eastern Lands had returned as a woman worried for the welfare of her future kingdom. "You don't have to listen to anything that boy has to say. And they have no right to even assume the strongest will marry you. Your intended is stronger than any of them will ever hope to ever be." Stroking the smooth raven hair she had inherited from her late mother he smiled. "If you're anything like your mother you will never just be the woman behind the man."

"Even if what you say is true I want to learn to fight."

Seeing the unfaltering look in his child's eyes he sighed. "So how long have you been training with Kazuma?"

Kagome was taken aback, surprised that her father had known about her sneaking in lessons with her older cousin. On the flipside Kazuma laughed, "I told you he would figure it out."

Ryo shook his head smiling, "What did you expect Kagome? This is my castle and you are my daughter, I should know everything that's going on. So, Kazuma, how bad is she?"

"Horrible -doesn't know which side of the sword is sharp." Receiving a jab in the abdomen from his cousin he laughed, "She's actually picking it up very quickly."

"Just like your father."

Kagome shook her head in exasperation. "Anything I do well, you think I got it from you."

"You can't deny what's in your blood."

Under the supervision of her older cousin by seven years, Kagome took to learning the ways of the sword. Much like how Kazuma had told her protective father, the princess was doing surprisingly better than expected. Completely engrossed in her new activity, Kagome used all her spare time to practice. Consequently, a short year later, she was sparring with her now twenty-one year old cousin and occasionally beating him. She quickly mastered the sword technique of the royal army and that of her father. King Ryo could only look upon his daughter with a sense of pride as she rapidly mastered the sword, bow and arrow, longbow, hand-to-hand combat, and the long staff. Being such a fast learner, no one was surprised that she could combat on a barebacked horse and run faster than most men in the royal army.

"You're not letting me win are you? Because you know I won't have you beheaded if you beat me you know. . ." Kagome looked upon Rinji that was catching his breath after racing with her around the castles grounds.

"I'm saddened that you would think so my lady. When I have been giving it my fullest effort." Rinji smiled as he sat down to rest.

Kazuma laughed and clapped the tired man on the back. "Don't go teasing the royal army Kagome. We're an overly proud bunch."

Shaking her head, the fifteen-year-old princess sighed. "I can't believe my father made you a knight."

"And soon to be seraphim I might add." Rinji boasted for his fellow army member.

She crossed her arms as she regarded her cousin. "Who has ever heard of a Duke, second in line to the throne, serving in the royal army?"

"Well, who has ever heard of a Princess, first in line to the throne, training to be one of the greatest warriors in the land."

She responded with a glare at her cousin. "I'm not a warrior. I'm just a princess that just happens to know how to hold her own if the time ever called for it."

"In battle?" Kazuma titled his head in question.

"Oh shut up."

"Don't tell me that my proper young daughter has picked up the foul language of the warriors."

Spinning around she grinned as her father came from another long meeting with his advisors. Over the previous two years the conflicts with the Southern Lands were only getting worse while alliances with the Western and Eastern Lands were getting stronger. Prepared to quip back at her father Kagome froze when she noticed the tired and worried look upon his face. "What's wrong father?"

Wrapping an arm around his rapidly growing daughter he sighed, "I know you have only been home for a moon cycle, but I'm afraid I have to leave for a bit."

It was Kagome's turn to sport a worried look. "A bit? To where?"

He looked toward Kazuma and Rinji, "The royal army and I will be heading toward the Southern Lands at an attempt for negotiations of peace."

Catching the attention of her father once again she questioned. "Then why must you take the entire royal army? Wouldn't a smaller group be less threatening and better for peace negotiations?"

Ryo shook his head, "That would be the route I would choose if I were to be dealing with any of the other lands; however, with the Southern Lands and the way Onigumo is, I would like to go prepared. Just in case."

"I do not like the sound of this father."

He sighed and kissed the top of his daughter's head. "Nor do I."

Kagome sighed as looked into the mirror. It had been two moon cycles since her father's departure for the Southern Lands, taking along with him Kazuma and the rest of the army as mentioned. The negotiations seem to be taking longer than expected and had led to the king not being present at the opening ball for the Northern Lands' social season.

What worried her was not taking the task of opening the season alone, for it was something she had seen done many times over, but was for the length at which her father had absent. She could only hope that he would return quickly and safely before the end of the season. If he failed to return before then, she would be unable to see until her return six moons later.

Her long stubbornly wavy hair had been curled and cascaded down her back. A small portion of it was pinned to the sides as she adorned a diamond and pearl incrusted tiara that had belonged to her grandmother. Her dress, a rich burgundy, was the design customary to her native land and reached the floor with an impressive trail. The maids had made her up and she couldn't help but think that she didn't recognize the girl. . . woman in the mirror.

"Are you ready my lady?"

Hearing the voice of handmaiden she turned toward the door. "I suppose I am."

Entering into the grand hall she saw that it was decorated with the flowers that bloomed at this time of the year and each chandelier was lit completely with the hundreds of candles. She had never been fond of these functions. The grand hall that held her father's regal throne and her smaller more feminine one at its side had always been a place of familiarity and comfort. However, with the social season and the ball, the grand hall could only be seen as foreign territory.

At her entry the music gently ceased and all looked upon her. Standing tall with her chin poised she smiled her trained 'princess on duty' smile. Gliding with the training of hundreds of hours of etiquette training her mother had made her father swear she would receive, Kagome made her way toward her throne. Standing before the crowd with her back to the throne she spoke in an imperial voice that she was still unaccustomed to using as it carried through out the room to each ear present.

"The Northern Lands graciously welcomes all of you from my land and the lands of our peaceful neighbors. May the season begin." With a nod toward the crowd she gestured for them to proceed in their previous conversation and dance as she sat upon her throne.

As much as she disliked attending balls, she disliked them even more when she was to be the hostess. It was custom for the hosting lands' royalty to sit upon their throne and watch over the crowd joyfully. Joyful was far from what Kagome was. For, due to her open position on the throne any noble male could approach her in inviting her in a dance. And being the prime unwed noble woman to marry at the present moment, many of the men tried to woo her heart. She sighed. Her father had reminded her of her marriage date within her sixteenth year, as agreed upon when the arrangement was decided between the two fathers. But she couldn't help but think that the date was fast approaching and she knew little to nothing about the man she would inevitably call her husband. Also, with the wedding date set, the single noble men were completely convinced they would have her fall madly in love with him and have her attempt in breaking the marriage arrangement. One such man was the arrogant prince from the Eastern Lands that decided he would be the first to approach her this evening.

"Hello Princess Kagome, I must compliment you on this exquisite ball."

Giving a struggled smiled Kagome nodded at the wolf demon, "You are much too kind Prince Kouga. The social season commencement ball held in your land always dazzles me."

Smiling at the compliment he looked over the princess, "During which time you dazzle me with your beauty more every time I look upon you. You have become such a beautiful damsel in these few short years."

She smiled through her gritted teeth at the sugar sweet words that the prince was pouring upon her. "And you have not changed. The demon blood within you does well in preserving your youth. It is hard to believe that you look to have not aged a day since the day of my birth."

Kagome had tried to point out the vast age difference between her and the prince, but Kouga seemed unfazed and took it as only a compliment that she was showering her with. He had a response ready when suddenly a servant came up to the two of them breaking their conversation. Bowing his head in apology toward the foreign prince the servant went to kneel next to the throne of his princess and whisper to her. "I am sorry to disturb you during your ball my lady."

Kagome tilted her head toward Kouga in customary apology, and then turned her attention toward the servant. "Do not worry Nobuhiro. Do you have urgent news?"

Nobuhiro whispered in a low tone as so that the demon guests would not hear their conversation. "It is your father."

She froze at his words and worry laced through her voice. "Has he returned? Is he not well?"

"I do not know my lady, but the royal army has been seen coming over the hill. . ."

At his pause Kagome could do nothing but panic. "Y-yes?"

"They do not raise the mast of your family crest, but a black one is raised in its stead."

Hearing the words from the man Kagome's eyes widened with fear. It couldn't be. This was the day her mother dreaded but had the fortune of never whitnessing, but in turn Kagome had taken up the task of fearing it.

Shooting to stand from her throne she raced out of the grand hall as the guests began to loudly whisper over the strange behavior of the princess. Speeding down the long corridors she kicked off the ornate shoes that slowed her down as she slammed through the large doors of the castle. The same doors that her father waited every year at to welcome her into his strong open arms. As she ran into the pouring rain she halted abruptly on her bare feet when coming upon the horses of the royal army. She searched through the darkness for the figure of her father but his majestic presence could not be found. Coming upon the familiar face of her cousin she ran to his horse as he dismounted.

"What has happened Kazuma? Where is my father?"

Turning around slowly as to gather his words he looked upon his cousin. She had been beautifully dressed for the ball and now she was standing within the rain- ruining her hair, makeup and dress. But all that didn't matter now. Kagome always gave off the air of being under control, betraying that she was younger than her years indicated. However, the panic in her eyes made her look like a lost child and Kazuma feared that she would become just that.

"There were no negotiations. The paranoia of your father was right. For the better part of the past weeks was filled with staged mock talks of peace. . . but it was all a trap. Onigumo had set up an ambush to attack us when we had let down our guard."

Kagome trembled at each word that came out of her cousin's mouth. "W-what of my father?"

Kazuma stared down to the right, anything to not see the look within her eyes. "I'm sorry Kagome. . . he fell in battle."

She shook her head, her wet hair sticking to her face. "No. . . No. Father would never fall in battle. He was the greatest warrior of all the lands. He survived countless wars, he will survive countless more."

"He was attacked from all sides by Onigumo's strongest demons. . . Onigumo made it so that your father had no chance of making it."

"B-but. . . he's my father. . . he's supposed to be here for me. . . I'm supposed to be here for him. . . We're all we have! No!" Her knees gave out from the intense emotions but Kazuma was quickly there to hold her in his embrace.

"I'm sorry Kagome."

She yelled and cried within her cousins arms. "No! Father! Father! . . . Daddy!"

Two days later the glitz and glamour of the ball had faded into a distant memory. The guests of the ball learned of the king's death the morning after and had stayed close to the castle to attend the funeral the day after. As the day progressed, thousands of people and demons alike came from across the lands. The traditional service was being held in the grand hall, where only a couple days earlier held festivities.

The throne that had stood so proudly was now hidden from view. Kagome looked upon her father's throne as she sat in her own. It was cloaked in a material of black silk. As custom with her land when a monarch passed away, the throne was to be hidden in such manner for three days. Then, it would be taken away from the room. She would never sit with her father ever again. Another noble came up to pay her respects and she nodded in silence. Their words of comfort did nothing, but she was grateful for the respect they came to show her father.

Beyond the guests and the cloaked throne was part of the tradition that she hated the most. There, a few feet away from her, on an ornate marble platform laid the body of her father. The only thing separating her and her father was the short distance and a sheer fabric that hid nothing of her father's image. Years ago, when she went through the same process with her mother's death she had gotten sick and had to be excused. But now, older, wiser, but no more used to death, she sat trying to control her emotions.

She hated the custom because it made it seem like he was only asleep and he would open his eyes to smile at her the he always did. But that wasn't the case. He would never wake up again, he would never smile at her again. The most difficult thing to deal with had been thinking about her father as not father, but as the body. Paying respects to the body. Looking upon the body. Saying farewell to the body.

Her face was devoid of emotion but screamed of sorrow. As she looked upon the crowd tiredly she saw her cousin approach her.

"Kagome. . ."

She forced a smile upon her face but only proved to look tragic. "Kazuma."

"How are you holding up?"

She shrugged, "All things considered I think I'm doing well. . . I just. . ."

He nodded encouraging her and she let out a gentle sigh of relief. It had been a difficult couple of days, everyone expecting her to figure things out for her father's death -when she had not expected this day to come so quickly.

"I always thought that my father would out live me. . . being who he is. . ." Looking upon the peacefully face of her father she felt as if in a daze. "I never thought I would become an orphan. . . I'm all alone now."

Throwing etiquette out the door he tugged his younger cousin in his arms. "You're not alone. You'll always have me, and mother has even told you she would come here to take care of you."

Within his arms she shook her head and wiped away some of the tears that slipped out. "No, I shouldn't be taken care of anymore. The Northern Lands need a leader."

He stoked her hair and looked into her face. "You can wait, the advisors can manage for a while until you are ready. . . or you can marry and your husband can-"

"No. That's not what this land needs. They need a queen from their land, not a king from a foreign one."

His eyes widened as he stared upon his cousin. "Queen? Kagome. . ."

She nodded, "This is something I have to do. And I have spoken with my intended already."

"He came?"

"One of the first to greet me. . . and I have discussed with him to postpone the marriage. He understood that the lands needed stability before an entirely new monarchy is set."

"Postpone for how long?"

"The season of my twentieth birthday."

His eyes widened in surprise. "That would be during the Northern Lands' social season. . . That is five years Kagome."

"I know. . . and I want to ask you to be at my side through all of it. . . is that asking too much?" She sheepishly inquired.

Kazuma shook his head smiling sadly. The young princess had been forced to grow up in a sudden spurt and Kazuma couldn't help but notice and worry a bit. "Of course not."

"Thank you. . . for everything."

She turned her attention to look upon forlornly at her father's cold still body. At sunset tomorrow he would be set upon a pyre to be cremated and interred within the royal family crypt along with her mother -forcing her to say her final farewells.

Another quick two days later with her father put to rest, Kagome face the crowd and her people. Out of her black downplayed dress of mourning, she now adorned the most elaborate and regal dress she had ever been clothed in. The only sign of mourning left upon her was the black ribbon used to tie the royal crest pendant around her neck. She thought upon the irony of such a joyous event like a coronation occurring the day after an interment.

Seeing the look in the eyes of the subjects, her subjects, she began to worry. What if she didn't rule the kingdom well? What if she drove these lands into the ground? She could feel herself trembling, but with a glance at Kazuma she took in a deep breath. She had his support if nothing else. Then her eyes fell upon the portrait of her father that hung on the sidewall along with all the other previous monarchs. Kagome smiled as she swore to herself to keep the memory of her father with her forever. She would always remember the strong image of his back with long silver hair as he looked over his lands. The way his piecing icy blue eyes, present in all white tiger demons, sparkled when welcoming her home. How his deadly claws that embraced her in a gentle hug when they could destroy anything else. The tiger ears that adorned the top of his head indicating his half demon blood. Her father had always been a sight for sore eyes, and his distinct features had always set him apart. Although her own raven hair was common amongst the lands and her obviously human physical features made her seem as human as possible, she knew that her eyes were that of her fathers. She would be reminded at each glance at a mirror that the strength and pride she held within them came from her father. Kagome resolved to treasure the distinct trait that her father's demon had passed upon her.

The high priest of the land placed the royal crown atop her head and she rose from her kneeled position. Poising herself over the crowd she knew that as the quarter tiger demon daughter of her father she would make her parents proud. "I, the new Queen Kagome of the Northern Lands as the daughter of the late King Ryo and Queen Kaya, will reign over these lands justly and wisely until the day of my demise."

Hearing her words all those present at the ceremony bowed deeply and welcomed the new Queen to their land and their hearts.


	6. The Stuff of Legends

1Author Notes: I honestly can't believe it's been a long two and a half years since I last updated "Quadrille of War." I apologize for anyone who was actually waiting (I have a feeling most people gave up). The next update will hopefully come within the next two months, not years. Hope you enjoy the chapter, please R&R.

Disclaimer: The _Inuyasha_ world and all characters depicted are a creation of mangaka, Rumiko Takahashi.

**The Stuff of Legends**

By Hoshi-ni-Onegai

"Wait a minute. So you're telling me that you joined us to fight in a war because you got bored?"

"Yeah so? What about it?"

Kagome sighed as she over heard the conversation between, Daichi, one of her men and Inuyasha. Kazuma glanced down at his cousin, "Are you sure he can be relied upon? A man going into war without any real moral reason might not fight to his full potential."

She shrugged as stretched out her arms over her head. "A half-assed effort by that guy would be better than having him on the enemy's side."

Lowering his voice so that the half demon would not hear Kazuma leaned down. "Do you trust him?"

"As far as I can throw him."

Seeing the furrowed worried brows of her cousin Kagome shook her head. "Not with my life."

Hearing a response he could deal with Kazuma nodded and fell silent.

"How long do you plan on staying with us?" Daichi questioned as the group moved on.

Inuyasha replied in confusion, "Till the end of the war."

"Are you serious?" Daichi and the rest of the Northern Lands' men couldn't help but be shocked at his words.

"What's the big deal? I said I'd help, I wasn't about to bail all of a sudden."

Miroku sighed and shook his head as he approached the oblivious dog demon. "Inuyasha, you do realize that this is a war that has been going on for the past four years since the death of the late King Ryo?"

Whipping his head toward Kagome, Inuyasha glared. "Four years? I didn't hear anything like that."

She rolled her eyes, "Most people know the logistics of this war. It's not my fault you decided to help before you knew what you were getting yourself into. Anyways, four years, is still pretty early on in a war. Wars can last decades and even centuries at times."

"You have got to be kidding me."

Shrugging she turned away to continue on the direction at which they were going. Throwing words back without so much as a glance, "Look, I never expected you to stay the entire time of the war, maybe a few battles. So don't worry about breaking your oath, it's an oath to fight along side me, not to see out this war to the end."

Stomping up to her and gripping her shoulder to turn her around he glared at her. "I'll be here till the end."

She spoke with an expressionless face. "I'm still not going to hold you to that." Shrugging off his grip she gestured for the rest of the group to follow.

As the rest of the group led on Inuyasha fell back to walk with his usual comrades. Still looking forward he whispered to Miroku. "Is it just me or did she change?"

"Her clothing?" Seeing the serious look on Inuyasha's face Miroku nodded. "Her personality."

"I don't know her well enough to say some things, but I get the impression that she's more distant."

"She's the queen now."

Both men turned their head toward Sango that made the comment.

Inuyasha furrowed his brows, "She's been the queen for a few years now."

"But she wasn't a queen to us for the three days that we first met her. The title of 'princess' is a pretty heavy burden, but 'queen'? I can't imagine the amount of pressure she is under. Maybe she did change a bit, but you can't blame her. She's in front of her men now, she has to act a certain way." Sango smiled as he looked toward Inuyasha. "Maybe she didn't change. It could just be that you see her in a different light because she's not just a helpless princess anymore."

Seeing the pensive look on the hanyou's face Miroku sighed. "Don't mix up your feelings Inuyasha." Miroku shrugged off the glare he received from Inuyasha.

Hours later when the sun had set and little words were exchanged afterwards, the large group found themselves setting up camp for the night.

"Takayuki, help with the fire today."

Hearing the order from the queen the man in question tilted his head in question. "Isn't that Hisayo's duty tonight?"

"Why don't you help him?" She raised an eyebrow as she smirked.

Seeing the expression on her face, Takayuki gave a quick bow and ran off toward Hisayo.

"Did you just put the fear of god into that kid?" Inuyasha said as he came up from behind her.

She shrugged, "It's no big deal. Takayuki was always a bit jumpy."

"In general or just around you?"

She laughed at his words. "I think just around me, but that's to be expected."

"Because you're the queen?"

She turned around to look at him. "Did I do something to offend you? Because you've been pretty short with me since you joined us yesterday."

"I just don't like to be lied to."

Hearing his words hurt more than she thought they would, but she smiled sadly anyways. "I understand what you're saying completely, but don't take it personally. I never reveal who I really am until I know for certain the person is truthful. Especially in the circumstances I found myself in. A rogue fighter rescuing me from a kidnapping is not something that happens everyday."

"Keh. From what I know now you didn't need to be rescued. You could have probably taken care of it on your own." He said as he faced away from her.

"You're right. I could have beat the shit out of Onigumo with my dislocated shoulders after he had raped me." Seeing the confused look in his eyes when he peered back at her, she sighed. "Look, I don't know how to thank you for saving me that night. You preserved my virtue and I'm grateful for that."

At realizing what she had just revealed she blushed and Inuyasha smirked. "Your virtue huh?"

"What did you expect? I'm an unmarried queen." She snapped and stomped toward her section around the fire and lay to sleep.

The next morning, before the sun even rose, the royal army and its new additions were

getting ready for the day.

As Kagome secured her chest armor Kazuma went up to her.

"Morning my lady." Seeing her frown he amended, "Kagome."

She rolled her eyes as she picked up her sword, "We have a long day and night ahead of us Kazuma."

He studied her as she got ready. As opposed to the day before, she was putting on her armor. She was getting ready for war.

"Today?"

She nods her head, "Onigumo's army has breached the Central Land's borders. He's been banished from them since his indiscretion from a few months ago. He won't stop at anything to take over all the land he can get his hand on."

"Should I tell the men to suit up for battle?"

Securing her final piece of armor she looked Kazuma straight in the eye. "I'll take one other person with me to scout the area and the numbers on the opposing side." Seeing her cousin about to protest she raises a hand in front of him. "Don't argue with me Kazuma. Not today. Tell the men after I'm farther ahead."

He sighed, used to her stubborn nature. "Who are you taking with you? Tamaki?"

Kagome allowed her glance to slip to the lone hanyou who was sitting on a tree branch.

Kazuma followed her gaze and furrowed his brows, "No."

She raised a brow at him, "No? He's the most qualified."

"Tamaki is the most skilled tracker. Take him."

"Most skilled human tracker. Inuyasha is biologically better," she grinned. "Anyways, Tamaki wouldn't be able to keep up with me."

Before Kazuma can say another word, Kaoru rushes off to the edge of the camp to where Inuyasha is. Kaoru called up at the tree where the silver haired man lounged. "You're with me Inuyasha."

The man looked toward the camp and saw barely awake men getting ready. He followed Kagome into the woods, "Where are we going?"

"We're going ahead of the group."

"We're scouting? Should they be sending off their general to do that?"

She shrugs in response as she deftly ducks under low branches, "I always scout."

Making quick leaps he was ahead of her and walked backwards looking at her face. He easily dodged trees and brush, as if he possessed eyes at the back of his head. "So what are we scouting for?"

"Onigumo breached the Central Land's borders."

"So we're picking a fight?"

She rolled her eyes, "No we're not picking a fight. We're just going to make sure they return to their own lands."

Inuyasha gave her a deadpan stare, "Yeah, and I'm sure that's why you suited up for war this morning."

"I may not be starting a war, but Onigumo might have different plans."

He watched her carefully as she made quick work of the forest floor, but not quick enough. "This is going to take forever if I have to wait for your ass."

She frowned, "This is a marathon. Not a sprint."

Ignoring her comment he turns around and crouches down in front of her, "Get on."

"You have got to be kidding me."

"Just get on."

She glared at his back and crossed her arms, "I'm not a small child."

Getting the feeling she was never going to get on his back, Inuyasha got back up and turned around. "This is going to take forever."

Rolling her eyes she walked past him. "My men can't fall too far behind. At most, they can only be an hour away."

"That's ridiculous."

"This, dear warrior, is practical." With that, she continued on into the woods with Inuyasha close behind.

As he followed the determined form of the royal in front of him, his mind began to wander. There was something about her that he couldn't quite put his finger on. He first wrote it off that she was a girl of many secrets, but there was something else. It bothered him to no end that he couldn't figure it out.

Also, why was she involved in this war? Granted, she had been kidnapped and nearly raped -but what had she been doing in the Central Lands in the first place? The Southern Lands had caused problems for it's neighbors for decades now, but the Northern Lands did not share a border with it. Why did Kagome and her kingdom butt into a war that they didn't need to?

"If you have a question, ask it." She glanced back at him from the corner of her eye.

He frowned. There was definitely something different about her.

"How did the Northern Lands get involved in this war?"

Her steps slowed for a moment, but she picked up her pace once again. "Do you know anything about this war?"

"I don't like getting involved." Tired of addressing her back, he walked up to pace with her.

Her brows furrowed together as her mind rolled over the situation she had been thrown into and had been swimming in for the past four years. "The Southern Lands haven't always been ruled by Onigumo. There was some sort of conflict within their royal court about six decades ago. With the unrest and the fragility of the people's faith toward the royal family, they were overthrown. The leader of the uprising was the king's closest advisor, Onigumo. He took the king's place on the thrown."

Inuyasha shook his head, "That doesn't make sense. Onigumo is human right? How could he be the guy I saw months ago?"

Kagome sighed, "There isn't much we know about him. Just that he doesn't age and has the allegiance of every greedy rogue demon and human from his lands. He has an unthinkable army. I'm really not sure where he is getting the sheer number he has gathered."

"So how did you get involved?"

She allowed a pregnant pause to fall between them. Kagome pressed on into the woods and gathered her mind before answering Inuyasha slowly. "Onigumo killed my father." A brief glimpse of anger flashed across her face. "My father left for the Southern Lands in a pursuit of a truce. It was supposed to be weeks of negotiations. My father believed that things could be better for the people under Onigumo's rule..."

Inuyasha watched her face. Aside from the anger, she did not allow emotion to crack her façade. Moments like these were when he realized that Kagome had been forced to grow up at a lightening fast pace.

"So this is vengeance for you." The words slipped past his lips before he had time to observe tact.

Her head whipped toward him. Like a dear caught in headlights she didn't move. The truth behind the statement was what jarred her, not Inuyasha's forwardness. Studying his eyes she gulped down a knot in her throat. Finally finding her voice she chose her words carefully, "I wish I could say that it's not about vengeance -but then I would be lying. However, it's not only about avenging my father's memory. It's also for peace of my lands, and the safety of the people in the south. They have a right to a prosperous life."

Inuyasha stopped in his tracks and furrowed his brows. "We're getting close. His camp is near by... be ready."

She nodded but stopped when she saw the wall of a shrine up ahead. She tugged on his sleeve with her brows furrowed, "Human blood."

With her words he froze. How did she know? His words escaped him when he sensed that they were surrounded. Without hesitation, he wrapped his left arm around her and gathered her small frame into his. He glared in the direction of the shrine.

Kagome turned her head in time to see the man she loathed down to her very fiber come out from the shadows of the massacred building.

"Back again my dear? I see you brought your savior this time," the man's voiced leered into her soul. There probably wasn't a voice in the world that she didn't want to hear as much as his, but on the flip side she had wanted to track it down and choke it out of the man for all eternity.

With the years of experience between the two of them, Inuyasha and Kagome took quick action and drew out their respective weapons. "I didn't even smell or hear him coming," Inuaysa growled in a low rumble to Kagome.

The owner of the voice stepped forward and laughed, "Don't feel bad hanyou. This medallion is laced with a bit of a cloaking spell."

Seeing the figure, Kagome tensed. Her grip on her sword tightened and her knuckles turned white. "Onigumo."

The man shook his head, "Not Onigumo, my dear Kagome. Naraku."

Her eyes widened at the name, "That's impossible."

Inuyasha frowned, "What's going on?"

Kagome shook her head, "Naraku is a name from an old legend. A human who sold his soul to become a demon."

Naraku waved his hand in a signal for his men to come forward. "That's beside the point Kagome."

Inuyasha growled, which surprised Kagome but not Naraku. "Don't address her so informally you asshole."

A knowing smirk split across Naraku's lips. "A bit protective aren't we dog demon?"

"Just making sure people show some respect."

"To who? Your future queen?"

A look of confusion graced Inuyasha's face, but disappeared just as quickly. "What the hell do you think you're doing in these lands?"

Kagome stepped forward, away from Inuyasha's protective stance. "I don't care what your answer is. Leave these lands. This is an order, not a question."

Naraku let out a bellowing cackle. "An order? From whom?"

"The Monarch Allegiance."

"And why am I'm supposed to obey?"

"The Southern Lands participated in the allegiance when it was first formed to protect that sanctity of the Central-"

"And the Southern Lands from the days of yore doesn't exist anymore."

She narrowed her eyes and raised her chin. "Then you will be removed by force."

"I look forward to it my dear." He tore the previously mentioned medallion off of his neck and smirked, "But before you banish me away, let's see if you can tell me what would happen if a cloaking spell was released into the air."

She took on an offensive stance with her sword, "My people don't deal with black sorcery the way you do."

"I'll take that as an invitation for a demonstration." With a quick flick of his wrist, Naraku threw the medallion by Inuyasha and Kagome's feet. The medallion cracked and whirl a sparks headed straight for the two.

Kagome stumbled a bit and her breath became labored. She looked down at Inuyasha, who was clutching his heart as his screams pierced the air.

Kagome crouched down to protect his pained form, but kept her wits on Naraku. "What the hell did you do to us!"

Naraku smirked, "You two really are an abomination of nature. I'm just helping rid you of one side."

Her eyes widened and quickly took her gaze to Inuyasha. His long silver hair bled into an inky black, his attentive dog ears slid down to humanoid ones, his claws retracted into fingernails, and his amber eyes that stared out into a vacuum of pain morphed to an amethyst.

Kagome steadied her body and took on a charging stance with her sword. "You bastard!"

Little did she know as she attacked that her eyes were no longer the blue given to her by her father's heritage; instead, they were the brown eyes that belonged to her mother.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A/N: Hiatus is over. I hope you'll stick with me till the end (which is a long ways off... sorry).


	7. Secrets of the Bloom

Author Notes: Yes, the hiatus is over, but that doesn't mean quick updates. It's also not very motivating to write this fic when there are so few readers. I get increasingly distracted by 'System Compatibility.' Anyways, I think the next thing I want to do with this fic is fix the dialogue in the previous chapters. It's so stiff -I cringe everytime I read it.

Disclaimer: The _Inuyasha_ world and all characters depicted are a creation of mangaka, Rumiko Takahashi.

**Secrets of the Bloom**

By Hoshi-ni-Onegai

A groan escaped him. The slow and steady rocking sensation was lulling, but with each tilt he could feel the wounds on his abdomen pulling. He could barely remember how he had ended up in this condition, but all he knew was that at the moment he was laying stomach up on top of Kirara. He could hear the muffled conversations of people around him.

He scrunched his eyes and tried blinking them open. Everything was a blur, he needed his hands to rub the sleep out of his eyes but they were currently incapacitated from the gouging wounds in both arms.

"Inuaysha? You're awake."

For all he knew this was a disembodied voice from the netherworld. He couldn't even tell if it was near or far, familiar or new, friend or foe. He was putting his bet on friend, being as Kirara was with him.

"Thank god. I didn't know if you were going to wake up." He could barely keep his eyes open.

A figure leaned near his form. "We're taking you somewhere safe, don't worry." It was the owner of the voice.

He was losing the battle against unconsciousness. The corners of his mind were getting clouded. Before he let the darkness take over, his eyes caught sight of a pair of worried brown eyes.

He whispered out the name of a woman he had tried to forget years ago. "Kikyo."

The parade of injured and weakened soldiers reached the safe confines of the Western Lands by nightfall. As a kingdom that was on friendly terms with the North, Kagome's men and her new travel companions were welcomed.

When she had inquired about the presence of the king, Kagome found out that he was on diplomatic trade negotiations with the autonomous villages along the Western Lands' southern border. He was to return within five days, so Kagome took advantage of the time and had everyone rest.

Kagome sighed as she sat in the reading room in the royal library. She gazed out the window into the clouds that threatened to pour rain. It had been four long days since she had come to the Western Lands and there weren't any signs that they would be leaving any time soon.

After Naraku had thrown the medallion and Inuyasha had lost his demonic side, it was a do or die situation for her. With Inuyasha incapacitated from excruciating pain, it was up to her to protect him from Naraku and his minions. It also did not help that the demon blood within her had been suppressed -but since it was smaller portion for her than Inuyasha- she was able to attack Naraku and distract his attention. She saw her life flash before her eyes when he parried her attack and she went flying into Inuaysha form. She had felt the bone in her leg snap. Barely conscious, Inuyasha attempted to use the untransformed tettsusaiga and block attacks. What resulted were two large gashes on both of his arms and an eventual stab to his gut by one of Naraku's minions.

What happened next was by what Kagome could only conclude was the pure grace of God. Sango's telltale boomerang swept through the offensive line. It was Sango, Miroku and Kazuma who burst through the trees first. The rest of the men soon followed short minutes later.

Kagome had witnessed the rest of the battle from the sidelines, a place where she didn't care to be. In the end, her men were able to fend off the other side without losing anyone on theirs. Although she fortunately lost no men, there were a good many injured. It was then decided that they would make their way toward the Western Lands' central palace in Waken.

Kazuma had carried her all the way to Waken, while Inuyasha laid on Kirara's back. He had been unconscious most of the time. Except for the one moment when he woke up and called her Kikyo. Kagome let out another sigh. Kikyo? There had only been one woman she had heard of with that name, and she had died sixty ago. Was it possible that Inuyasha was referring to the same woman?

She was pulled out of her contemplative mood when a lady in waiting peeked into the library. "My lady?"

Kagome smiled at the young girl who was probably somewhere in her mid teens. She was a jumpy little thing that had tended to her every time she came to the Waken. "Yes Rin?"

"Did I disturb you?"

"Just doing some reading," Kagome raised a scroll on old legends. "Can I help you with something?"

Rin furrowed her brows in confusion at the literature choice, but grinned soon after. "His highness has returned a day early. He is in the throne room waiting for you."

Kagome could feel the butterflies start fluttering about in her stomach. Setting down the scroll on the small table next to her, she gathered up the voluminous silk kimono and steadied herself on her good leg. Rin came rushing forward, but Kagome raised a hand stopping her. "I'm fine Rin. I just need a few more minutes than usual."

Kagome took the crutch the royal physician had provided her with and teetered her way to the throne room. Each step that she took made her more anxious. After long and languid steps she finally made it to the intricately decorated paper sliding door that led her to the throne room. She reached her hand forward to open the door, but her fingers curled back in hesitation. She cringed at that he would say. She looked a mess and she should have been in a better state to greet someone of equal social stature. Would he take this as a sign of disrespect?

"Don't just stand there Kagome." His voice was exactly as she had remembered it. Strong, stoic, and the coldness that it usually held for other people was absent. The way he spoke to her always made her feel protected and special.

As she slid the door open a smile spread across her face at seeing his tall figure standing regally at the center of the room. "Sesshomaru."

A rare spark of emotion showed in his eyes at seeing her. He took her form in then frowned, "You look worse than they told me."

Kagome laughed and rolled her eyes. "Missed you too."

She clumsily fumbled into the room until he came to her side and took her in his arms and set her on his throne across the room.

She raised a brow at him, "Should I be sitting on the King's throne? Doesn't this warrant a beheading or something?"

"I'm sure it can be forgiven for the injured future queen of the lands." His clawed hands traced her bruise cheek and the cut across her brow. "I've never seen you this badly hurt before."

She nuzzled into his hand and sighed, "Onigumo... he says he's Naraku now. How is it possible?"

"I had heard some rumors about it, but I decided not to believe it until I heard directly." He stared are her for a long moment which made Kagome a bit uncomfortable. "Your eyes."

Kagome blinked quickly in response then nodded into his hand that was still resting on her cheek, "Naraku had some kind of spell. It stripped Inuyasha and me of our demon blood. I don't know when it's going to return."

"I thought I smelled him."

Surprise crossed her features, "You know Inuyasha?"

"Unfortunately."

At the same time, on the other side of the palace, a certain half demon was finally waking from his four-day slumber.

"Ugh…" Inuyasha groaned as he opened his eyes. He felt outrageously sore and barely rested.

Looking up at the ceiling he frowned. The ceiling looked all too familiar. His eyes darted around the room and he knew where he was. How the hell had he ended up here? This was the last place he wanted to be.

The last thing he could remember was Naraku and the medallion. He could feel his anger bubbling. What he needed were answers, and laying here recovering was not going to help any.

He hoisted himself up to a sitting position. Each slight move of a muscle felt like pins and needles. Every large movement felt like a stab. Inuyasha bit through the pain and swung his legs over the bed. With no one to stop him, he stumbled toward the door. He was going to get answers, and he knew exactly who was going to provide them.

As he made his way down the hall he groped against the wall. He was seething with anger and he could feel his strength returning. But that was the least of his worries. As his strength returned he could smell the occupants of the castle. His team was safe. All of the Northern Lands' men were accounted for. But the smells that stood out more than anything else were the two that were coming from the throne room.

Finally upon the ornate sliding door, he slammed it open. Kagome looked like a deer caught in headlights and jumped at the noise, but the man with her just turned his attention to the door. Inuyasha growled at the man's hand on Kagome's cheek. Inuyasha's attention, however, was completely compromised by Kagome's hair. Her raven locks were swept half up and a fully bloomed white hydrangea settled at the base of her neck.

"Inuyasha! You're awake." The shock had left her face and an elated smiled took its place. "And you're back to your youkai self."

"Hanyou." Sesshomaru corrected.

Kagome glared at Sesshomaru. And to Inuyasha's surprise, the king did nothing. He couldn't take his eyes off the two of them and the way they acted toward each other. He finally caught Kagome's eyes and what came out of his mouth next sounded more like an accusation than a statement. "You're betrothed to my brother?"

Her eyes widened and she looked between the two silver haired men, "Brothers?" She looked straight at Sesshomaru with a stare that Inuyasha was certain no one could have gotten away with. "Your brother is alive?"

The small edge of remorse that would be easily missed by someone that didn't know him well was present in Sesshomaru's voice. "Half brother. And he abandoned his family decades ago -so he's dead."

Then it was Inuyasha to be on the receiving end of Kagome's glare, "You never said anything! You hid this from me."

"You didn't tell me you were the queen when I first met you."

"And what? You didn't have the decency to tell me you're the crowned prince of the Western Lands after you knew who I was?"

Inuyasha frowned, "I'm not a prince."

"He's not." Hearing the king's words Kagome stared at him. "I am the only surviving member of the royal family." Seeing the expression on his face she took his hand into hers.

Inuyasha glared at their hands. "I'm leaving."

As Inuyasha turned around to leave, Kagome let go of Sesshomaru's and stood up suddenly. Pain shot through her leg and she collapsed into Sesshomaru's arms. Inuyasha turned back to see the rare display of compassion in Sesshomaru.

Everything about his brother irked him at the moment. Sesshomaru was someone that cared only for himself and everything in his life was a means to an end. What he had witnessed in the past five minutes went completely against everything knew about the brother that had snubbed him from birth. There had never been a polite word directed at him. Inuyasha could not explain the man in front of him, nor the supposed relationship that was displayed before him.

He watched on for a short moment longer, but turned away and left the couple alone. He couldn't help but feel like he was witnessing something he wasn't supposed to; something that he hadn't ever wanted to see.

Inuyasha needed to blow off some steam. It wasn't enough that he found himself in the Western Lands; no, he had found himself in Waken. He hadn't expected to make his way back to his birth city. He also hadn't expected and had hoped to ever run into his brother. He furrowed his brows. The biggest shock was that Kagome wasn't just friendly with his brother, but that she was his future sister-in-law.

He shook his head. Strike that, she wasn't his future sister-in-law -that would require him to recognize Sesshomaru as his brother. Inuyasha had left this life years ago. His father had told him that if he left, there would be nothing left for him if he returned. He would be abandoning his family, his people, his title, and everything that came with it. At the time, it wasn't even a question of what he would do. Looking back on the decision he made in youth, he couldn't say if it had been the right one.

He turned the corner and spotted a familiar door. He sighed. This was exactly what he needed.

While all the adults in the war campaign were preoccupied with their own issues, Shippou was left alone with Kirara and was bored out of his mind.

Sure, the cat demon had entertained him a bit as they investigated the palace, but the duo had familiarized themselves with the entire place by the second day. It was day four and they were bored.

He had asked to leave Waken and visit his place of birth, but Miroku voted it was safer all around if everyone stayed put within the castle walls. Shippou sighed. It didn't really matter much, being that no one he knew was left in his village. If you could call a ghost town a real village. His family and friends had all been massacred during his time away training. He would have sought vengeance, but Inuyasha beat him to the punch. It didn't bother him anymore. Contrary to his visual appearance, Shippou had a good many decades under his belt. And the death of his parents and sibling had occurred when he first met Inuyasha, which was nearing its thirtieth anniversary mark.

But since he looked like a kid, everyone treated him like one; as a result, he acted like one. So he was currently looking for a distraction. Strolling through the halls he caught the scent of certain hanyou.

Ginning, he looked at Kirara, "Inuyasha's awake!"

Sprinting down the hall with the small cat demon right on his heels, he came upon an ornate sliding door. Carved into the wood of the door were weapons of various types and effectiveness. The only connecting theme was that they were all distinctively of the Western Lands -such as the katana.

Creeping forward he cracked the door. Peering in, Shippou saw a frustrated, sweating, and fully recovered hanyou swinging a regular katana.

Inuyasha paused in his movements, then without sparing a glance toward the door, he continued his kata. "What do you want?"

Figuring that it was safe to enter, the fox demon slid the door open and plopped down in the corner with Kirara. "You're awake."

"Keh."

The boy considered the weapon Inuyasha was flinging around. "Where's tettsusaiga?"

"You tell me."

Shippou sighed, it was like pulling teeth with him sometimes. "Have you gone to see Kagome yet?"

An irritated growl echoed through the practice hall and a heavy swipe rung through the air.

The boy nodded. "Oh, yeah. She might be too busy with her boyfriend."

Inuyasha shot him a brief but threatening glare. "He's not her boyfriend."

Shippou shrugged. "They're getting married aren't they?"

The older demon continued to ignore him. He really didn't have an answer to his question, and he really didn't want to think about the answer.

In response, Shippou rattled on going a mile a minute. "Where do you think they'll live after they get married? Here or Felidae? Will it be known as the North-Western Lands? Or the West-Northern Lands? Will the new capital be Waken or Felidae? Or will there be a new capital that straddles the boarders?"

Inuyasha stopped his movements with his back facing the boy. Gripping his sword, his knuckles turned white.

"How many kids do you they'll have? Hey! They might end up looking like you!"

That comment made him snap and he barked at the small fox. "Shut up you runt!"

That's when he caught sight of her. He had been too distracted to notice earlier, but Kagome was wearing a traditional kimono that was reserved solely for royalty. This particular one was very familiar to him.

Raising a brow, she leaned against the door frame. "What? You're picking on kids now?"

This should have infuriated him. She shouldn't be wearing that. But what bothered him more was the carefully bloomed hydrangea nestled within her silky black hair. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes, he was going to bring the kimono up anyways. "Those were my mother's clothes."

Kagome widened her eyes and looked down at the apparel in question as if it were the first time she had seen it. She glanced back with remorse in her eyes, "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"It'll eventually be yours anyways." He turned away and walked across the room to pick up the sheath for the sword. "It's tradition here. The king and queen inherit all the possessions of past dead kings and queens."

She shook her head, "Still, it was your mothers."

He snapped back at her, "I don't care. Take it. Take everything."

Shippou ran up and smack Inuyasha on the head. "Don't yell at her!"

Patience wearing thin, he grabbed the small demon by the collar and threw him out the door. The boy yelled back, but disappeared along with Kirara.

Kagome frowned, "This bothers you."

Tugging on the outer obi, it slacked and along with it her kimono. Gathering the abundance of silk fabric she carefully began to fold it. Inuyasha blushed at the scene. Sure, she had three more layers on underneath and her travel clothes had revealed much more; but this was the clothing he had grown up with. Kagome was currently very indecently dressed for a royal, and he couldn't help but feel like he was seeing something he wasn't supposed to -especially since she was his brother's betrothed.

"Put your clothes back on."

She didn't miss his blush, nor did she miss the annoyed look on his face a moment later. Delicately placing the kimono in question on the floor, she sat down next to it. "You ran out of the throne room pretty quickly."

Putting the sword back up along with the rows of other armory, he ignored her comment.

She let out an exasperated sigh, "You can't blame it all on me. It's also your fault for not telling me who you are."

"Who I was. Past tense." He shot her a glare, "Also, I didn't lie."

She rolled her eyes, "This conversation is somewhat familiar. You were mad at me for the same reasons. You omitted facts."

Stomping toward her he loomed above her, "What does it matter to you?"

Her response stuck in her throat. Really, what did it matter to her? Aside from their war campaign, there was nothing else tying them together. Changing the subject she looked away as if distracted by something on the armory wall. "So how did you know I was Sesshoumaru's intended?"

Inuyasha pulled away. She was skirting away from the question. "Your hair."

Kagome tilted her head. "My hair?"

"On a woman, half up means engaged. All up means married. All down means you're single." He stole a glimpse of the flower and growled slightly, "And the flower tells people who the guy is."

She unconsciously reached for the flower in her hair, "Sesshoumaru is the hydrangea?"

"Males get names and flowers when we're born."

She nodded. This was not a custom that anyone told her about. She had assumed it was just the decorative hair choice of the land, since she had been combed into the same style every time she came to the Western Lands. It was a strange notion knowing what it meant now. And she had the inexplicable feeling to pull the flower out.

Her words slipped forward before she knew what she was asking, "What flower are you?"

Another blush crossed his face and he turned away to leave. "I abandoned my flower along with my title when I left."

She raised a brow, "Where are you going?"

He marched forward. "Finding my clothes and tettsusaiga."

Limping after him she tugged on his arm. "You don't need those here."

He jerked his arm away from her grasp and kept walking. "I'm leaving."

Her voice was tentative, "Why?"

Her question stopped him in his tracks, but he didn't bother turning around. "You have your king now. You don't need me to fight for you anymore."

At his words Kagome's anger boiled. She limped toward the stubborn hanyou, "You were the one who said you were going to stick around. Are you going back on your word?"

Inuyasha glanced back at her. Not because of the words that she was spewing at him, but because something was flaring inside of Kagome. The thing he couldn't quite put this finger on was making itself known. He could hit himself for not realizing it earlier.

Not getting a response from him she kept going, "Is your word not worth anything?"

Inuyasha ignored her baiting words. He walked up to her and locked gazes with her. Right before his eyes, her stare was morphing from a calm brown to the familiar stormy blue. "You're part demon."

She was taken aback by his comment. After a pregnant pause, Kagome searched Inuyasha's expression for a long moment. "You didn't know? How could you not have known? Can't you smell the demon in me?"

Concentrating, he caught a faint edge of youkai blood; something that would have been easily missed with Shippou and Kirara around to overpower it with their youkai scent. "You're less than half."

"A quarter." She nodded, "I thought you figured it out when you found out I was the Northern queen. Mostly everyone knew of my father."

At Kagome's statement Inuyasha frowned. During his time at the castle, the last thing he wanted to do was learn about the royal bloodlines. He barely cared about his own. Another Lands' spoiled family was something he didn't see necessary in life, so he had ducked out of those classes. A quick threat to his teacher prevented his father and mother from finding out. Now, he wished he had at least sat in on the day he learned about the Northerners.

Seeing the look on Inuyasha's face Kagome smiled. She reached up to stroke Inuyasha's ear, an action that he had never expected her to try. "My father was a half tiger demon." She paused as she looked him over, "You remind me of him."

His eyes slipped shut by their own accord. The last time anyone had gently touched his dog ears was his mother seventy years ago. It was lulling and he leaned into it. His reaction to her ginger hands escaped reason for him.

However, the moment was broken by a simple question. "Who's Kikyo?"

As if burnt from her fingers, he jumped away. He narrowed his eyes and glared, "Where did you hear that name?"

His reaction startled her, "That's what you called me when you were half gone."

Inuyasha blood boiled. Not at Kagome, but to his mind's path. He had tried to forget and thought he had. He glared at the queen standing before him. She was to blame, he reasoned. There was a seed of similarity between the two faces -particularly when her eyes were brown. He gritted out through clenched fangs, "What does it matter to you?"

Not one to take venomous tones without reason lightly, Kagome snapped back. "I'm not the one that confused me for someone else!"

The scent of her youkai blood pumping below the surface of her skin was all too evident to him now. He couldn't believe he hadn't realized it before. Her youkai side seemed to flare with her temper -something he had pushed more often than not since meeting her.

Huffing he turned away and headed for the door.

Her limp drastically better now that her youkai blood was pumping again, she chased after him. As he reached the door she called out, "Are you still leaving?"

His words were tossed back without a pause in his step. "One night. Then we're leaving here, or I'm going on my own."

Hearing his words, Kagome stopped and smiled. Inuyasha was rough around the edges -jagged even- but his moral fiber never disappointed her.


End file.
